Transport to a tropical paradise without ever leaving the comfort of your home. The Miami Vice cocktail takes the best of a strawberry daiquiri and a piña colada for a delicious hot day refresher.
Whenever I’m enjoying a hot day with friends or throwing a beach-themed party, the Miami vice cocktail comes to mind. I love a Strawberry Daiquiri, but a Piña Colada isn’t without its charm. So why choose between the two? The combination of tropical ingredients and blended ice make you feel like you’re on the sun-soaked shores of Miami.
Not only is this cocktail sweet and delicious, but the layered colors look stunning as well. If you’re ready to take your mixology to the next level and produce a drink that’s incredibly Instagram-worthy, grab your blender and ingredients for a quick and easy cocktail.
Why You Will Love This Cocktail Recipe
- If you like a fruity cocktail, this drink is for you.
- The bright and bold colors are simply stunning.
- Perfect for a party or gathering with friends on a hot day.
- A very easy drink to prepare in just minutes.
Equipment
- A blender
- Jigger (to measure liquids)
- A citrus juicer or squeezer
- Separate containers for both mixes (strawberry daiquiri and piña colada)
- A hurricane or tall cocktail glass
- A spoon or spatula for layering the piña colada mix over the strawberry daiquiri
- Optional: a straw and a toothpick to hold the garnish (strawberry or pineapple slice)
Ingredients
- 2 oz light rum
- 2 oz whole strawberries or strawberry puree
- 1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 oz simple syrup or granulated sugar
- 1 oz coconut cream for example, Coco López
- 2 oz pineapple juice
- 1 cup of ice separated
Instructions
- Start with the strawberry daiquiri: Combine 1/2 cup ice, half of the light rum, strawberries, lime juice, and simple syrup or sugar in a blender and mix until smooth.
- Set the strawberry daiquiri to blend aside in a different container.
- Move to the piña colada: Clean the blender before adding another 1/2 cup of ice, the rest of the light rum, coconut cream, and pineapple juice. Blend until smooth.
- Fill a hurricane or tall cocktail glass halfway with the strawberry daiquiri mix.
- Gently and slowly pour the pina colada mix over the strawberry daiquiri, filling the rest of the glass.
- Add a strawberry or pineapple slice as garnish if desired.
Nutrition
Variations
Check out these ways you can alter the Miami Vice cocktail to suit your tastes!
- Spiced Miami Vice: Add a subtle kick to your cocktail by swapping out the light rum for a spiced rum. This will add warmth and will pair amazingly with the creamy coconut and sweet fruit.
- Passion Fruit Miami Vice: Honestly, you could add just about any fruit to this cocktail and it would probably still taste phenomenal. However, we’re sticking with the tropical theme for now; add some passion fruit juice or puree to the piña colada part of this recipe for a unique flavor.
- Mango Miami Vice: More fruit! Either swap out the strawberries with mango chunks to create a mango daiquiri, or simply go 50/50 with mango and strawberry. The tropical flavors will be truly to die for.
- Sparkling Miami Vice: Top off your cocktail with a splash of club soda, sprite, or sparkling wine once you’ve poured the layers into the glass. This light and bubbly finish makes for a more festive cocktail ideal for celebrations, while lightening the texture of your drink slightly.
Tips and Tricks
Making a Miami Vice for the first time might seem daunting, but with these handy dandy tips and tricks, you’ll be a pro in no time.
- High quality ingredients: Using fresh ingredients like ripe strawberries, 100% pineapple juice, and freshly squeezed lime juice can make your cocktail taste so much better. Likewise, if you opt for a high quality coconut cream and fork out a little more for a great rum, you’ll get a richer taste.
- Layering the drink: To get that layered appearance, slowly pour the piña colada mix over the strawberry daiquiri, and use the back of a large spoon to help slow your pour if necessary. Just go slowly and gently to avoid combining your layers, although it won’t be the worst thing in the world if you do (the color will be a pretty pink).
- Blending: When you’re blending your daiquiri and piña colada mixes, aim for a slush-like consistency by adding a little more ice or liquid as needed. You want the drink to be thick enough to hold the layers, but not too thick that it becomes difficult to pour or sip.
- Chill your glass: Before you start making your cocktail, place your cocktail glass in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to keep it cool. This will help keep your drink colder for longer, which is especially important for blended drinks to keep the texture.
- Adjust sweetness to taste: This is a sweet cocktail, so you may want to hold off before incorporating the simple syrup or sugar. You can always make adjustments as you go by tasting your layers before removing them from the blender.
FAQs
This cocktail is best served in a chilled hurricane or tall cocktail glass with a straw, although you can use any tall glass you have on hand. Drinking through a straw allows you to drink each layer as you wish, or blend them together.
Absolutely, you can easily create a mocktail version of the Miami Vice cocktail by substituting the rum with more pineapple juice, coconut or almond milk, or a blend of fruit juices. You could also use a zero-proof rum like Ritual’s rum alternative.
For the best results, use a light or white rum for this cocktail. The slight sweetness pairs well with the fruity flavors of the drink without overpowering them, which a dark rum would do. If you prefer to experiment with different flavors, you can also try using a flavored rum such as coconut or pineapple.
How to Store a Miami Vice Cocktail
If you’ve decided to make this cocktail ahead of time, you can prepare the strawberry daiquiri and piña colada mixes individually and store them in the refrigerator in covered containers. Give each mix a stir before serving (keep in mind that the consistency will not be the same, as the ice will likely have melted).
You can also store any leftovers or made-ahead mix in the freezer, which will keep in an airtight container until you’re ready to serve. Simply let defrost for a couple of hours before blending the ingredients again and serving. If you have a glass of Miami Vice that has already been layered, you can keep it in the fridge for up to a day, but remember that no method of storage will leave your drink tasting as great as it did when it was fresh.
