Piña coladas may get all the attention (and song mentions), but its less-famous cousin the Painkiller has star power all its own. It’s also a bit of a bartender darling—and deserves a spot in your summer cocktail rotation.
While both the piña colada and Painiller are tropical classics feature rum, pineapple and coconut, the latter features dark rum, rather than light (although some piña coladas also feature dark rum or a mix of the two). More importantly, the Painkiller calls on orange juice, which leads the drink in a more citrusy direction, and is topped off with freshly grated nutmeg.
“The sweet citrus notes and spices set Painkillers apart from a regular piña colada,” says Panji Wisrawan, head mixologist at Pinstripe Bar, at Viceroy Bali. “The combination of orange juice and nutmeg adds layers of flavor to a Painkiller, ideal for those who prefer a more complex taste.”
The Painkiller was invented in the 1970s at the Soggy Dollar Bar, in the British Virgin Islands. The original concoction’s precise proportions are lost to time, but are said to have been two to four parts rum, four parts pineapple juice, one part cream of coconut and one part orange juice, with freshly grated Grenadian nutmeg. Named after the Noni fruit plant found in the South Pacific islands, which is known as a pain reliever, the rum cocktail is ubiquitous at beachside bars around the world, as well as bars channeling the vibe of a tropical escape.
“It’s a drink for the beach vacations from the disco era that can easily be a backyard crusher,” says Travis Gauvin, bar manager at Sur Lie, in Portland, Maine. “You’d be hard pressed to find a cocktail with such a calling card today for obvious reasons; you can’t sell, distribute or regard alcohol in a way that ‘kills your pain,’ or cures what ails you. But it’s also a cocktail that has transcended from a time when not many drinks became well-known and loved.”
As of 2015, Soggy Dollar Bar had served four million Painkillers. Pusser’s Rum, a version of the high-proof “Navy Rum” issued to sailors earlier in the century, trademarked the cocktail in 1980, but of course, you can make it at home with any dark rum you like—as long as it brings rich spice notes to the party.
But be warned: In 2011 Pusser’s Rum sent a cease-and-desist order to a New York City bar called Painkiller, which had to change its name because it didn’t make its Painkillers with Pusser’s. This triggered a bartenders boycott of Pusser’s. (Other trademarked cocktails include the Dark ‘n’ Stormy and the Sazerac, which mandate the use of certain name brand liquors in order to be represented with those names on a menu.)
Rum Ratios and Technique
Recipes dating back to the 1970s call for anywhere between two to four ounces of rum, leaving a fair amount of room for home bartenders to experiment and choose the amount they like best.
“The interesting part of a Painkiller is the discrepancy in the amount of rum,” says Gauvin. “Two to four ounces is quite the pendulum swing. But this is tiki we’re talking about, and the high-proof navy strength is offset with nearly an equal amount of tart and fresh pineapple juice, acidic and fruity orange juice and the mouthfeel of cream of coconut.”
Bartenders often like to use a blend of rums. At Brother Wolf, in Knoxville, Tennessee, owner Jessica King uses Plantation O.F.T.D. as the stronger, primary rum and then Appleton Estate 8 Year Reserve as a secondary rum. Gauvin likes an overproof rum—like Navy Strength, Smith & Cross or Pusser’s—since the cocktail needs “the right caramel, leather and spiced notes of the rum to really create a baking spice profile in the drink.”
