How to Make a Henny Colada

Feb 03, 2024by RJ Peristere

Ahh the Puerto Rican classic cocktail with an American + french twist. Is it possible to swap the rum for a delicious cognac like Hennessy? We've tried it and can confirm that not only is the cocktail delicious with Hennessy, the henny actually adds a bit of dynamic flavors that markedly improve the cocktail. We've always enjoyed cognac because it's a bit sweeter and goes down so smoothly. Our recipe leans a bit a on the traditional Pina Colada recipe but with our own AFewCocktails twist.

Henny Colada Recipe

The first thing you'll notice about our recipe is we prefer a blended version but this recipe can be easily made without a blender and instead a cocktail shaker. If you do choose to use a cocktail shaker, make sure to use a lot of ice to give yourself a nice cold cocktail. Also, if you choose to not use a blender, we also recommend pouring it over an ice filled glass. Make sure to shake the cocktail shaker vigorously. We want the cocktail to be maxed chilled.

Ingredients :

2 oz Hennessy Cognac
1 oz coconut cream (coco lopez - The OG)
3 oz pineapple juice
1 cup crushed ice
Pineapple slice and cherry for garnish

Directions :

In a blender, combine Hennessy, coconut cream, pineapple juice, and crushed ice.
1. If the mixture is too water, keep adding more ice.
Blend until smooth and creamy.
Pour the mixture into a chilled glass. (A hurricane glass)
Garnish with a pineapple slice or pineapple wedge and a maraschino cherry
Serve in large tropical drink glass

Required Bar Tools :

Blender
Tropical Drink glasses
Cocktail shaker (if you decide not to blend it)

Is Hennessy good with a Piña Colada Recipe?

For the most part, you can substitute Hennessy for any Pina Colada recipe. However, I will caution against using a Pina Colada mix that you haven't tried first. For the most part, they can be a bit too artificial and miss those natural flavors that you get when mixing fresh or canned pineapple juice with coconut cream. We've also found the Hennessy to not be so overwhelming a flavor that you can't taste the other ingredients. In fact, we could even recommend a floater to juice up the hennessy colada.

How to Make your Henny Coladas a bit different

Let's say you've had 100 Henny coladas on the beach and you're ready to try something new. We have a few variations that you might like. One, is you could add a bit of orange juice to the cocktail. The orange juice will pair well with the pineapple juice and other related hennessy cocktail recipes. We also recommend a bit of caramel syrup in the bottom of your glass if you want a more dessert flavored cocktail. The Henny colada is best enjoyed on a hot day with plenty of fresh ice or poolside chilling with a few friends. After all, you shouldn't be having the whole blender to yourself. It's time to share!

Does Hennessy Cognac mix well with Coconut and Pineapple Juice?

The Hennessy like most brown liquors mixes well with both the pineapple juice and the cream of coconut. The beauty of coconut cream and pineapple juice juice is that they mix perfectly well without any additional ingredients but they also mix with a bunch of other ingredients well as well. If you wanted to add a bit of cherry juice or any other citrus then you can be rest assured that your drink will still be very good. The heaviness of the cream of coconut also allows for floaters of your favorite liquors and allows for the maraschino cherries to float on top.

Is Hennessy Cognac the best Cognac for a Pina Colada?

Hennessy is definitely the widest known cognac brand in the United States. But is it the best one to mix with the coconut cream? We tend to think so, although we also have other recommendations. We also like Courvoisier. The down side is, if you choose to use Courvoisier, then you can no longer call it a Henny Colada anymore. But overall, we wouldn't recommend using anything more expensive than Hennessy. This is not a drink to use Louis XIII on. The mixers would overwhelm all the quality notes that you would expect from a high end cognac. Stick to what works, and your henny colada will be perfect. Enjoy!