The Painkiller cocktail was created in the 1970’s at the Soggy Dollar Bar at White Bay on Jost Van Dyke Island located in the British Virgin Islands. This cocktail is said to be a hangover cure as well as a cure for whatever ails you. In 1989, Pusser’s Rum (Pusser is a Royal Navy slang for a purser which is a ship’s supply officer) filed a US trademark on the Painkiller name and recipe. Pusser’s Rum (also located on the British Virgin Islands) was the original navy rum served on Great Britain’s Royal Navy warships for 315 years from 1655-1970. In 2011, a tiki bar opened in NY called Painkiller and Pusser’s sued the bar owners for using their name as well as using other rums in the Painkiller cocktails. The bar ended up changing their name to PKNY but it caused a lot of drama as many bartenders boycotted Pusser’s Rum. Anyway, I used the Blue Label Pusser’s Rum for this cocktail, and I have to say it was delicious. It is a very rich tasting all-natural dark rum with flavors of dried fruit, molasses, vanilla, caramel and oak which blends beautifully with the fruit juices, coconut and nutmeg. I highly recommend using this rum as I don’t think it would taste the same without it. Cheers!
Equipment
- Cocktail Shaker
- Strainer
- Jigger
- Knife
- Cutting Board
- Grater
- Hurricane Glass
- Straws
Ingredients
- 2 oz Rum (Blue Label Pusser’s)
- 4 oz Pineapple Juice (Dole)
- 1 oz Orange Juice
- 1 oz Cream of Coconut (1 can (13.66 oz) coconut milk (I used Thai Kitchen) ,1 3/4 cups sugar, 1/8 tsp salt and 1 Tbsp. Coconut Powder for thickening (optional)
- Fresh Nutmeg (grated)
- Pineapple Wedge for Garnish
Method
- Start by making the cream of coconut. In a medium size pot, combine coconut milk, sugar, salt and coconut powder if using. Heat gently and stir until well blended. You can also use the prepackaged versions instead, but they tend to have a lot of additives.
- Prepare your pineapple wedge garnish. Cut the top and bottom off a fresh pineapple. Cut lengthwise in half, then in half again. You should have 4 long pieces. Cut 1-inch wedges from the long pieces. Place any unused pineapple in ziplock container or bags in fridge. Cut a small slit at the bottom of the wedge to sit on the glass. Set aside.
- In a cocktail shaker with ice, combine the rum, pineapple juice, orange juice and cream of coconut. Shake until chilled and strain into hurricane glass filled with ice cubes.
- Grate fresh nutmeg over the top,
- Slide the pineapple wedge onto the side of the glass and add a fun umbrella straw. Enjoy!
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