11 Pineapple Cocktails Perfect For Summertime Sipping

With the return of the sun-filled, hot summer days comes the craving for sweet, tropical cocktails — and nothing says tropical quite so deliciously as pineapple. Blend this citrusy and naturally sweet fruit into delectable mixed drinks. Our round-up of 11 Pineapple Cocktails includes classics like Piña Coladas, Mai Tais, and Blue Hawaiians. There are also non-alcoholic options so everyone at the party can get in on the fun: Like a creamy Tropical Smoothie and a Coconut Cream Mocktail.

The pineapple cocktails are easy to scale, whether you want to make drinks for a crowd or just one drink for yourself. For the best-tasting blends, pick up a good-quality brand of bottled or canned pineapple juice, and choose frozen or fresh pineapple chunks instead of canned. (Here's how to tell when a pineapple is ripe.) Pieces of fresh pineapple also make beautiful garnishes for the glasses. Other accessories to pick up for your drinks include cocktail cherries, fresh lime slices, and tropical-themed cocktail picks or paper umbrellas. 

As for the barware, tall, Collins-style glasses work for many of the drinks; other styles that will come in handy are rocks glasses and curved hurricane glasses. If you have any tiki-themed cups, these drinks are a great way to use them! Find your new favorite pineapple cocktail below and raise a glass to summertime fun.

This has to be the most famous pineapple cocktail of them all, and for good reason. A Piña Colada is a frozen drink that's sweet, beautiful to look at, and literally tastes like summertime in a glass. Find a good quality pineapple juice to blend with rum and coconut cream. Pineapple wedges, cocktail cherries, and those little paper umbrellas are all perfect garnishes for this tropical drink. One sip and you can almost feel the beach sand between your toes. 

Recipe: Piña Colada

Instead of blending up all the tropical fruit into a drink, let sliced fruit shine in this tropical take on a classic sangria punch. Pineapple, along with mango, papaya, and kiwi are stirred into a blend of white wine and pineapple juice. Put it all into a clear glass pitcher with ice, and get the party started. The recipe makes enough sangria for six people. For a nonalcoholic version, swap out the wine for sparkling white grape juice.

Recipe: Tropical Sangria

The color of a sweet Mai Tai cocktail will remind you of tropical sunset. This drink is loaded with fruit flavor from pineapple and orange juice, with booziness from rum and Grand Marnier liqueur. The surprising ingredient that brings the drink together is orgeat, a sweetened, almond-flavored syrup that creates a lush flavor when blended with pineapple. Stock your bar now with the ingredients so you can shake up mai tais all summer long. 

Recipe: Mai Tai

Get a Piña Colada flavor in a frozen cocktail that's sure to be the most stunning drink at the party. Stash pineapple chunks in the freezer until they're firm, then throw them into a blender with coconut cream and rum. To give the drink its signature color, add a splash of blue Curaçao, an orange-flavored liqueur with a sky-blue hue. The recipe makes enough for one drink, and it can easily be doubled or tripled to share.  

Recipe: Blue Hawaiian

For any budding mixologists out there, rum punch is a tropical drink that's easy to make your own. Choose your favorite light, dark, or spiced rum; our recipe blends it with orange and pineapple juices. (Here are the best-ranked rum brands.) Experiment with other juice too, like cranberry, lime, or mango. It's easy to scale the recipe up to make enough to fill a punch bowl or pitcher. Look for grenadine and orange bitters at the store in the same section as other cocktail mixer products.

Recipe: Rum Punch

Here's a tropical drink that everyone at the party will enjoy, kids too, because it's really delicious and alcohol-free. Pineapple juice is the star of this mocktail, blended with coconut cream and coconut milk for a beachy flavor and creamy texture. Brown sugar is blended into the drink for an extra hit of sweetness. Serve Coconut Cream Mocktails over ice in tall glasses, or for fun, in hollowed out pineapples or coconut shells. 

Recipe: Coconut Cream Mocktail

For all the rum fans out there, this drink is especially for you. A Bahama Mama combines two kinds: Dark rum, which has intense molasses-like sweetness, and coconut rum with coconut flavoring added in. Shake them up with pineapple and orange juices to create the cheery pinkish-orange cocktails. The citrus fruits are a nice balance with the sweet rums. Pick up some cherries for the garnish: maraschinos or cocktail cherries preserved in bourbon.

Recipe: Bahama Mama

Make this smoothie as a refreshing mocktail to enjoy with breakfast or while sitting by the pool. It's got all the best, tropical flavors in one glass: pineapple, mango, banana, and coconut. (Here's how to peel a mango.) Blend frozen fruit with orange juice to get that smooth and creamy texture. The recipe makes two servings that blend up in minutes. And if you want to add some spirits to the smoothies, try a splash of rum or banana liqueur.

Recipe: Tropical Smoothies

Here's a popular tiki cocktail that's shaken, not stirred. There are three kinds of alcohol in a Rum Runner, but if you love making tropical drinks you probably already have them on hand. White rum is the rum of choice here, for a light flavor and color, but dark rum could also be used. Other ingredients include blackberry liqueur, pineapple juice, banana liqueur, and a dash of grenadine for the gorgeous color.   

Recipe: Rum Runner

A Painkiller is an old, favorite tiki cocktail with a storied history of a Caribbean swim-up bar, wet dollar bills, and cracking a secret recipe. It's a delicious and refreshing tropical cocktail that's surprisingly easy to whip up. Pineapple juice is combined with orange juice and coconut milk, then shaken together with dark rum. Serve Painkillers over ice and with garnishes cherries, paper umbrellas, or pineapple wedges. The recipe makes one drink.

Recipe: Painkiller

It's one of the best-loved tropical drinks ever, so it's only fair that everyone gets to have a taste. Make a batch of frozen, non-alcoholic Piña Coladas to share at pool parties, backyard barbecues, or for island-themed movie marathons (like "Pirates of the Caribbean," "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," or "Cocktail"!) The recipe makes three, easy mocktails, a blend of frozen pineapple, pineapple juice, and cream of coconut. The recipe makes three drinks.

Recipe: Virgin Piña Colada