26 Jul 2010
Review of Piña Colada mixes, A Brand War
Sometimes it is nice to be able to just whip up a good piña colada in the summertime without having to hit the stores again for some pineapple and coconut juice. Don’t get me wrong, a real piña colada is delicious, but, it isn’t always convenient and cost effective.
I’ve recently tried three different types of pre-made piña colada mixes with which you just need to add your white rum. I usually stick to Bacardi’s. The first is the Rio Lobos Piña Colada cocktail mix that comes in a bucket, the second is Coco Colada’s canned piña colada mix, and the third is Mott’s Pina Colada mix.
The Rio Lobos Piña Colada Mix comes in a bucket which we bought at
Walmart. They were on special, so we bought many so that they’d last the full summer. Hey, we like to entertain!
Upon opening the bucket, you’ll find two clear plastic bags filled with the colada mix. There is 1.89 litres of liquid which is able to make you 16 142 ml drinks. What’s nice is that you have two options for preparing your drinks. The first preparation method is to empty both bags of mix into the bucket, add your rum or vodka, then close up the bucket and freeze it. If you don’t want to wait for freezing, or if you’re just making single serve portions, you can follow the mixing instructions, and do it all in your blender, with ice.
The flavour of the Rio Lobox Pina Colada is very smooth and mild. It isn’t an over-powering taste, but is light and refreshing. While it is quite good, it is missing a little ‘something something’ in comparison to a fresh piña colada. The bucket cost us $5.00.
Coco Colada’s Piña Colada Mix
Coco Colada’s Piña Colada Mix comes in a can and requires that you simply add your rum and ice, and mix it in a blender. The can is 350 ml, and can make around 4 drinks, or two if you like them large, like we do. Coco Colada’s mix is made with real coconut cream. The can cost us $3.79.
If you really enjoy the taste of coconut, then you’ll enjoy this one. I found that it tasted too much like coconut, and didn’t have enough of a pineapple flavour. You could also taste the rum, which isn’t necessarily bad, but, I like secret alcohol.
The can doesn’t specify that you should add pineapple juice, but, if I were to use this version again, I’d buy the juice, too. Fro the size of this can, it is the most expensive option of the three.
Mott’s piña colada mix is definitely the more popular of the three I’m reviewing here. It is found in pretty much every grocery store here in Canada. The regular bottle is 1 litre, and can make around 10 drinks.
The instructions are to combine 4 1/2 oz mix and 1 1/2 oz of rum into your blender with 2 cups of ice and blend until slushy. The Mott’s piña colada is typically around $4.00, but we got ours on sale.
The flavour of the Mott’s Piña Colada is quite delicious. I’d say that it tastes the closest to the fresh version, which is likely why it is so widespread. You can’t really taste your rum in it at all.
The winner of this brand war is the Mott’s Piña Colada mix, for it has the most flavour, is most similar to a real piña colada, and has the benefit(or danger) of masking your rum taste.
So if you’re lazy like us, I highly recommend Mott’s Piña Colada mix for a fresh summery taste of Mexico; the piña colada.
~Darleya~
I’ve never had a Pina Colada because of that annoying song about them. But now after reading this, I may have to try one, they sound delicious. Nice reviews!
Marty Wombacher
July 28th, 2010 at 11:39 ampermalink