This Piña Colada Old Fashioned drinks like an Old Fashioned with the flavors of a Piña Colada. Balanced, a bit boozy, not too sweet and plenty of the tropical vibes.

Old Fashioned Colada served in a rocks glass with an orange twist and ice cube. The drink is bown in color and cloudy from the addition of the pineapple juice.

Piña Colada Old Fashioned, with the flavors of a Piña Colada, but drinks like an Old Fashioned. I’ll be honest, I do love a good tiki drink. However, they are often too sweet. Sometimes it is so sweet half or even a quarter of the drink is plenty. The pure amount of sugar in some of the Piña Coladas out there is well, unfortunate. But when creating the Spiced Pineapple and Rum Sundae, I wanted a tiki inspired drink.

Since the bite has the flavors of pineapple and coconut and I figured this would be amazing to have both in the cocktail. But I wanted to create a more upscale and booze forward cocktail. So I combined the flavors of a Piña Colada with the style of an Old Fashioned. Honestly, it is real good. I get pineapple, I get light coconut, I get the sweetness and I get the beautiful flavors of rum. Give this Piña Colada Old Fashioned a try and be sure to pair it with the Spiced Pineapple and Rum Sundae.

Recipe Notes & Substitutions

Spiced Rum– Any type of spiced rum will work for this Piña Colada Old Fashioned. If your spiced rum leans more in the cinnamon and allspice the Old Fashioned Aromatic Bitters will help bring it out. Dark rum would also work well in the cocktail. The only real difference between dark and spiced rum is that spiced rum has spices in it. So spiced rum will work better with the old fashioned bitters and make it a little more winter seasonal. For more information on the difference between types of rum, check out this blog post by Saucy. White rum would not be a good substitute. If you really only have white rum and don’t want to run to the store, use white rum and add a 1/2 tsp of molasses. It won’t be the same with it would work in a pinch.

Coconut Rum– Yes, this is the flavored kind, with the most common one Malibu Coconut Rum. Use whatever coconut rum you have or like. If you do not want to use coconut rum, but still want coconut flavor do a fat wash on the rum. A fat wash will get the flavor of coconut into the rum without the extra sugar often found in coconut rum. Or try a dash or two of coconut extract if you do not have or do not want to buy coconut rum. Check out this blog post from Elaine at Dishes Delish for a fat washed rum, just sub in spiced rum for the white rum in the recipe.

Pineapple Juice– I like using fresh juice, or using pineapple chunks and muddling them in the shaker before shaking. Canned or bottled pineapple juice will also work. You want some of the acidity and sweetness from the juice, but not too much.

Brown Sugar Simple Syrup– Making simple syrup is so easy! I do it in the microwave if I just need a small amount. You can sub regular simple syrup in the recipe, but the brown sugar works so well with the spiced rum. Instead of brown sugar you could also use coconut sugar. If you do this add a little extra simple syrup to the cocktail because coconut sugar is not quite as sweet as brown sugar.

Old Fashion Aromatic Bitters– These are different from angostura bitters and orange bitters. Honestly, I bought them by accident one day and was shocked at what I found. These have a spice component, like cinnamon, ginger and clove. It is interesting, and tastes amazing when you want that spice. I used Fee Brothers Old Fashion Aromatic Bitters.

Rum Colada Old Fashioned in a rocks glass with orange twist set next to the Spiced Pineapple and Rum Sundae in a dish served over vanilla ice cream with large chunks of pineapple.

Why this Piña Colada Old Fashioned Pairing Works… In my mind.

I realize spiced rum is not typical for a Piña Colada. However, spiced rum often has similar characteristics to whiskey or bourbon and makes the perfect base for this Old Fashioned inspired cocktail. Furthermore, the rum sauce uses spiced rum, so using the same spiced rum ties the two together flawlessly. The spiced rum also helps emphasize the allspice and cinnamon in the Spiced Pineapple and Rum sauce. The Old Fashion Aromatic Bitters further emphasize the spices in the food. The Old Fashion Aromatic Bitter add a nice cinnamon like spice with undertones of anise and clove that works so well in the cocktail and paired with the food.

Luckily since there is rum already in the Spiced Pineapple and Rum Sundae, the Piña Colada Old Fashioned does not need to be as sweet to work. However, the drink still needs some sweetness. The brown sugar simple adds the perfect accompaniment to work with the molasses flavors of the rum. The syrup also helps to mimic the spiced pineapple sauce and further pairs with the spiced rum. The additional sweetness and the creaminess of the vanilla ice cream actually help tame some of the booze bite from the heavier alcohol cocktail.

Coconut and pineapple are a dream team. The acidity and sweetness of the pineapple is mellowed by the sweet and creamy coconut. Adding vanilla to the mix actually helps enhance the coconut flavors, add creaminess and help to showcase the pineapple rum sauce. Using fresh pineapple juice and coconut rum in the drink helps to further showcase the pineapple and coconut. I love mimicking the flavors between the food bite and drink because it is a guaranteed good combo. It helps emphasize flavors, cover areas the food or drink lacks and best part is it means you have most of the ingredients on hand already!