The Painkiller Cocktail Recipe

Family causing a headache this festive season? Rustle up a Painkiller with this exclusive recipe from Rum A Tasting Course.

With its roots in the British Virgin Islands, the Painkiller is closely associated with the Soggy Dollar Bar on the island of Jost Van Dyke. The drink’s creation is attributed to Daphne Henderson, the owner of the small beach bar, in the early 1970s, and it became famous with locals and visitors alike.

The Soggy Dollar Bar was so named because, when pulling up to the beautiful, white sandy beach by boat, the only way to get to the bar was to swim. And so patrons paid for their drinks with “soggy dollars”.

The original Painkiller recipe included imported dark rum, but legend has it that in the early 1980s, Charles Tobias, founder of locally produced Pusser’s Navy Rum, persuaded the bar owner to tweak the recipe to include his unique dark rum.

From then on, the Painkiller became synonymous not only with the island and bar but also the rum brand – so much so that Pusser’s Rum filed a US trademark on the Painkiller’s name and recipe in 1989.

What makes a Painkiller?

Use a dark rum for an authentic flavour if you can’t source Pusser’s Rum. If you don’t use freshly squeezed pineapple juice, then balance the sweetness of the drink with a touch of fresh lime juice. Be sure to use real cream of coconut such as Coco Reàl Infused Exotics.

Ingredients
  • Dark rum
  • Cream of coconut
  • Orange juice
  • Pineapple juice
  • Nutmeg

 Method
  • 1. Shake or blend all the ingredients with ice until cold
  • 2. Strain into a tin cup or highball glass with plenty of ice
  • 3. Sprinkle over a dusting of nutmeg for aroma
  • 4. Garnish with a slice of pineapple or orange and pineapple leaves
    Download the recipe
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