Cuando se trata de libaciones veraniegas, hay una bebida que es tan popular como familiar: La piña colada. Esta bebida helada es una de las favoritas en los chiringuitos de playa de todo el mundo, incluido su lugar de origen, Puerto Rico.

San Juan

The piña colada, a cocktail synonymous with Puerto Rico, is celebrated for capturing the island's tropical flavors. The Caribe Hilton in San Juan claims the drink was invented there in 1954 by bartender Ramon Monchito Marrero, although another local establishment, La Barrachina, also asserts its own claim to the cocktail's creation in 1963. The original recipe featured pineapple, coconut, and heavy cream, served over crushed ice, with rum added in later versions.

Beyond its origins, the article highlights challenges facing Puerto Rican agriculture, such as a shift away from local farming and the impact of Hurricane Maria, which have affected the availability of ingredients like pineapples and sugarcane. Despite these setbacks, there is renewed interest among younger Puerto Ricans in revitalizing local production, particularly for pineapples and rum, which are essential to the piña colada and the island's economy.

Los orígenes de la piña colada

No es de extrañar que la llamen la isla del encanto. Aguas cristalinas y playas de arena blanca complementan a la perfección los sabores tropicales de Puerto Rico. Y si tuvieras que poner esa sensación en un vaso, sería esto, la piña colada. Y no hay nada mejor que una piña colada porque lo dice todo sobre la isla, todos los sabores, todo es perfecto. Jose Roque es barman y mixólogo en el Caribe Hilton de San Juan. ¿Por qué crees que es tan popular? Porque la gente viene aquí de vacaciones y están esperando, ya sabes, algo muy, muy puertorriqueño. Así que en cuanto salgas a la playa o a la piscina, quieres tomar un cóctel muy refrescante. ¿Cómo surgió esta bebida dulce y cremosa? Bueno, la escritura está en la pared. El Caribe Hilton muestra con orgullo su historia de cómo se inventó la piña colada en 1954 por el camarero del hotel, Ramón Monchito Marrero. Así que fue desafiado en una competición de cócteles a hacer una bebida que cautivara todos los sabores de la isla. Así que usó piña fresca, cocos frescos, porque aquí tenemos muchas palmeras. Añadió un poco de nata espesa y no ron en ese momento. Sin ron en ese momento. Y fue un apretón de manos. Apretón de manos. Y luego servido con hielo picado porque no teníamos licuadoras en aquellos tiempos. El hotel dice que ahora vende 59.000 piñas coladas al año. Pero hay un pequeño problema en el paraíso. Otro restaurante al otro lado de la ciudad, La Barrachina, afirma que la bebida fue inventada allí e incluso tiene una placa conmemorativa de su nacimiento en 1963. Así que si otro bar dice que ellos lo inventaron, estás diciendo que no. Sí, no San Juan y no lo es. Fue aquí. Fue aquí. La verdad es que la gente probablemente mezclaba alguna combinación de esos sabores con ron durante algún tiempo. Volviendo a lo básico otra vez. Hablando de mezclar, es hora de probar. Primero, el original de 1954. Jugo de piña, crema de coco, crema espesa, agitado. Cubierto con hielo picado. Guau, sí. Eso es refrescante. De vuelta a 1954. De vuelta a 1954. Me lo llevo. Volveré. Un clásico. Ahora la toma moderna. Elimina la nata espesa, añade ron local, y mézclalo con hielo en la batidora. Quiero decir, tan refrescante. Sale más con el exterior. Sí, si estuviéramos fuera donde hace calor y tienes la brisa del océano, Es decir, todo combina a la perfección. Va perfecto, ¿verdad? Eso solo, es tan agradable y ese efecto escalofriante en una isla cálida de esta bebida, es genial. También es genial. Y la piña, el coco, lo saboreas todo. Y el ron. Y el ron. Pero al igual que la bebida refleja la belleza y sabores de Puerto Rico, también puede poner de relieve algunas de sus luchas recientes. Por ejemplo, las piñas. Tras décadas de abandono de la agricultura en la isla obligó a depender de frutas importadas, lo que significa menos piñas puertorriqueñas, lo que encarece las locales. Las explotaciones que se mantuvieron sufrieron otro duro golpe en 2017, Huracán María. Don Manuel Machado dirige la Finca Don Manuel, una explotación frutícola. Pero es muy difícil cuando una tormenta azota Puerto Rico. Dice que la mayoría de sus plantas fueron destruidas. Ahora le anima una generación de jóvenes puertorriqueños. que quieren revitalizar la producción local de piña. Creo que los jóvenes tienen interés en producir, vale, en compensar a los agricultores. Precioso. Tal vez dos kilos. Hace 10 años, no tener esta suficiente gente interés por la agricultura. El interés por la agricultura local también está aumentando por el lado del ron. José Álvarez dirige San Juan Artisan Distillers. El huracán ha desaparecido en Puerto Rico. Rescatamos variedades autóctonas de Puerto Rico y las propagamos durante cinco años y tenemos una parcela de unos 100 acres de caña de azúcar. El huracán María también le afectó mucho. Muy guay. ¿No es genial? Pero ahora Álvarez cultiva y cosecha la caña de azúcar. Y eso es todo lo bueno que hay ahí, ¿verdad? Eso se filtra, sí. Que se fermenta en alambiques franceses de coñac. Si aún estuvieran en Francia, lo harían. Estarían haciendo coñac. Estarían haciendo coñac. Estaba ansioso por mostrarnos los frutos del trabajo de su destilería. Este es su pepon blanco fron. Básicamente puedes sentir las increíbles notas de la hierba, sabor a caña de azúcar quemada, azúcar quemado. Y es realmente extraordinario. También tiene una línea de rones infusionados con frutas tropicales locales. Creo que es un ejemplo para Puerto Rico también que se puede utilizar nuestra tierra y producir bienes agrícolas y transformarlos en un producto acabado. Y eso podría generar tantos puestos de trabajo y añadir tanto a nuestra economía que es básicamente el modelo que seguimos. De vuelta en el Caribe Hilton, José Roque también está buscando poner su toque en la bebida oficial de la isla, utilizando la piña colada como inspiración para otros cócteles, como su old-fashioned, elaborado con ron añejo de primera calidad, amargo de coco y sirope de piña casero, y adornado con piel de naranja y cereza. Allá vamos. Salud. Gracias, salud. Salud. Oh, vaya. Eso es suave, pero consigues- Completamente diferente, ¿verdad? Sí, es diferente de la piña colada, claramente, pero aún así... Esos sabores. Esos sabores de ahí. Está delicioso.

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