CHRISTMAS IN ST. CROIX: COQUITO
Nothing says Christmas in St. Croix like a tall glass of coquito! This coconut based alcoholic beverage hails from the neighboring island of Puerto Rico and can be described as Puerto Rican eggnog. Many people of Puerto Rico migrated to the US Virgin Islands, making Puerto Ricans the largest number of migrants to the territory. This resulted in a unique cultural link between the islands and brought about many shared traditions such as enjoying coquito during the festive holiday season! Christmas in St. Croix isn’t complete until you’ve consumed a few tall glasses of coquito to ring in the New Year.
Get into the holiday spirit! Have Christmas in the US Virgin Islands in the comfort of your own home by making your very own coquito. If you’d prefer, we’d love for you to visit St. Croix and get a taste of coquito from a plethora of vendors at our Crucian Christmas Carnival Village that takes place from December 26th to January 6th.
Coquito (Puerto Rican Eggnog)
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes
Makes 8-12 servings, depending on your glass size 🙂
Ingredients
1-12oz can evaporated milk
1-14oz can sweet condensed milk
1-15oz can sweetened cream of coconut (Coco Lopez is what we use in St. Croix)
1-15oz can coconut milk
3 cups Cruzan Light or Cruzan Coconut Rum
1-teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cinnamon sticks
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Directions
Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, cream of coconut and coconut milk in a large blender and blend until completely combined. Add the rum, vanilla and ground cinnamon and blend all ingredients together.
Pour into a pitcher of glass bottles with sealed lids. Add in the cinnamon sticks and seal the bottles and/or pitcher. Cover and chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours or until chilled.
Serve immediately in your favorite glasses with or without ice and garnished with sprinkle of cinnamon. Place leftovers in tightly sealed containers in the refrigerator for about one week.
*Please note that coconut oil solidifies in the cold, often making this drink very thick after some time in the fridge. Leave your coquito out on the counter for about 15 minutes to thin it out or you can run the bottle under warm tap water for 1-2 minutes. Shake vigorously before serving.
