The Coquito Shop, which delivers in NYC, has given the Puerto Rican rum drink a life beyond Christmas. Photo: The Coquito Shop
This year has been suspended in a chaotic stasis. It’s currently every month and no month, blink and the summer has come to an end. If we must exist in this amorphous calendar year, why can’t we decide when we indulge in our favorite things? For those yearning for the comfort of the holidays, and a generous dash of rum, The Coquito Shop has got you covered.
Often referred to as “Puerto Rican eggnog” for those that don’t know, coquito is a creamy, spice-infused, coconut-based rum drink served during the holidays at your favorite Boriquan homes. Having created his brand and personal recipe anchored by organic canned coconut milk in 2018, Coquito Shop founder and Brooklyn native Tony Del Pino, sold this treat by word of mouth on the holidays. Until Covid hit. Deciding that everyone needs a lift in spirits that shouldn’t require waiting for winter, the nearly decade-long bartender whom you may have imbibed with most recently at Dirty French in the Ludlow Hotel, started selling via Instagram, where I luckily happened upon it in a friend’s IG story.
Currently available in three flavors—original, Bustello, and chocolate—how was I to resist when I saw they were running a sale through Labor day? I took the Bustello flavor to the beach. I split the chocolate late night with a friend. I drank the original as a meal-replacement….It was officially Christmas in August for this Jewess, and I had to seek out Santa to thank him.
The Coquito Shop has plans of expanding, working on new flavor recipes like Hibiscus and S’mores, and figuring out a formula to get their gorgeous bottles shelf-stable and available at liquor stores. But for now, order via their Instagram page, and enjoy complimentary contact-free delivery if you live in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and select areas of the Bronx. Sorry Staten Island, but they’ll be happy to ship to you and anywhere else for an additional fee. Del Pino also does small-batch bottled cocktails, with four staples including a spiced old-fashioned, lavender margarita, classic martini, and the penicillin ( 375ml, 2.5 drinks per $20 bottle), over on his other page BKMixologist718. Note, for the frugal and environmentally conscious: save those bottles for the shop’s redemption program. Each return is $3 off your next purchase.
Praise be to small favors this year, as the shop has extended their sale through the end of September ($25 a bottle/$70 for the flavor trio), which gives me just enough time to catch my breath and clear out some fridge space for a re-order.
