The avocado colada might as well arrive in the middle of a merengue song blasting on some faraway stretch of sun and sand. A twist on the long-maligned piña colada, it is a vision of summer to combat our snow-clogged streets. At Orinoco, a Venezuelan restaurant in Brookline Village (where the drink is available), the South End, and Harvard Square, the rum cocktail tempts even skeptics. “People look at the menu and say, ‘I don’t know about avocado in a cocktail,’ but then they try it and they’re usually won over,” says bar manager Phil Spinks, who developed the drink. Avocado lends its pretty pale shade and viscosity to the drink; Spinks says it’s especially important to use a ripe one. Coconut cream (from a can is fine) makes it even thicker, then rum and pineapple and lime juices thin it out. A nest of coconut shavings is basically the cherry on top.
Avocado colada (makes 1 cocktail)
¼ ripe avocado
1½ ounces Parrot Bay coconut rum
2 ounces coconut cream
1 ounce pineapple juice
1 ounce fresh lime juice
Sweetened coconut flakes
1. In a cocktail shaker, combine the avocado, rum, coconut cream, and pineapple and lime juices. Add ice and shake vigorously.
2. Strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a healthy pinch of coconut flakes.
Adapted from Orinoco
James Reed can be reached at jreedwrites@gmail.com.