I am sure you have heard of Coquito, a Puerto Rican originated coconut-based alcoholic beverage that is similar to eggnog, sometimes erroneously referred to as Puerto Rican Eggnog. It literally means “little coconut” yet to me, there is not much of a coconut flavor in the original drink. I have tried it, and it is oh so yummy. So I’ve remade it, with my own twist. You may argue this is not Coquito, however if you bring it to a party, and tell people it’s Coquito, 98% of the time they would not know the difference.

The thing is, Coquito is just intimidating to make. Just like regular egg nog, it contains raw egg yolks that must be prepared just right or the drink can be ruined, not to mention get people sick.

I have a hack to make a ‘Coquito-esq’ drink that can pass for the yummy cocktail this Holiday season, and you’d be the hit of the party if you bring this drink regardless if you proclaim it as the original “coquito” or not.

The secret to this drink? Use store-bought Egg Nog. No need to temper the egg, and the fear of salmonella.

There are only 4 ingredients in this drink, and none of which contain coconut. Any time I’ve tried Coquito, I was unable to taste the coconut, but if you really need it, add in some Malibu Coconut Rum and there ya go.

Other than that, the ingredients are simple. Captain Morgan Gingerbread, Kahlua, store bought Egg Nog, and Apple Pie Spice.

Then, you can choose to dip the class rim in water and then cinnamon and sugar for an extra touch, or not. I also add ice cubes.

Add 1 shot of Captain Morgan Gingerbread.

Then, to that, fit the glass almost all the way to the top with Egg Nog.

After that, add in 1 shot of Kahlua. I just eyeball it. At this point, if you wanted to add Malibu Coconut Rum, now would be the time. It adds the coconut flavor, but it is certainly not needed in this version.

Then, mix good and add a dash of apple pie spice to it. If you do not have it, cinnamon or nutmeg would work as well.

As you can see, I went and got another glass, and added the cinnamon sugar to the rim as well as ice cubes to my finished drink. As you can see, it is very similar to the fames “Coquito” and takes less than half the time. Bottle it up, freeze it, and play it off as your own if you wish.

Now it’s time to have a relaxing Holiday drink and take our family pajama photos in front of the tree!

Happy Holidays!