The 10 Best Pineapple Cocktails

Pineapple is extraordinarily diverse in cocktails, with its signature balance of sweetness and acidity. 

A member of the bromeliad family of flowering plants, pineapple originated in South America, where it was an important crop for Indigenous civilizations. From there, largely due to the influences of colonization, the fruit spread to Central America, the Caribbean, Africa, India, and beyond. By the end of the 16th century it was cultivated in tropical areas around the world.

The Hawaiian Pineapple Company, which would later become Dole, started producing canned pineapple around the turn of the century, and advancements in technology made canned pineapple juice widely available in the 1930s. At about the same time, pineapple juice started to appear in classic cocktails like the Algonquin and the Mary Pickford. Following the Tiki craze of the 1930s and ’40s, it became more closely associated with a wide range of tropical drinks like the Blue Hawaii and Piña Colada. 

When it comes to cocktail-making, pineapple is unique for its combination of natural sweetness and acidity, which comes from citric and malic acids. When shaken thoroughly, pineapple juice can also add frothiness to drinks, thanks to an enzyme called bromelain that breaks down protein and reacts with air to create bubbles. (Fun fact: bromelain is also responsible for the burning sensation some people experience when eating fresh pineapple.)

The tropical nature of pineapple makes it a natural match for rum, and it also pairs particularly well with agave spirits like mezcal and tequila. 

Canned vs. Fresh Pineapple

While fresh juice is often the golden rule for cocktail-making, pineapple juice is a notable exception, for a few reasons. 

If you’re making cocktails at home, juicing an entire pineapple is time-consuming and can lead to waste. What’s more, most cocktail recipes are balanced to work with canned pineapple juice, which typically has minimal additives beyond a touch of ascorbic acid, a.k.a Vitamin C. Look for canned pineapple juice without added sugar, and buy in six-ounce cans if possible, as it tends to spoil quickly once opened. If macerating pineapple into a cocktail, we suggest using canned pineapple, since it’s more easily incorporated into a mixture than fresh. An important exception: cocktail garnishes, which should always be fresh. 

Here are 10 of our favorite ways to use pineapple in cocktails.