The Pina Colada has always been one of my favorite summer cocktails, and by always I truly mean always, starting with childhood beach vacations when the concoction in my cup was still sans rum. As summer is winding down I’ve made an effort to fill my days with summer favorites instead of pining for fall (though on most days I’m doing both, eating watermelon and simultaneously hoping for falling leaves, such is my life), but as most of you know if you actually fill your days with Pina Coladas and all of their sweet cream of coconut goodness you will soon find yourself in the market for some larger pants.

Lucky for us, as I was sipping my 1,000th glass of coconut water (I’ve recently become legitimately obsessed) and flipping through Martha Stewart Living I stumbled on a recipe for a lighter Pina Colada, using none other than coconut water. How Martha always reads my mind like that I will never know, I’ll just continue to be impressed. I’ve adapted her recipe (pick up the August 2011 issue to find the original)  to bypass the blender and make it as quick and easy as possible so that I can enjoy as many as I can before next month. Without, of course, the need for larger pants.

Pour all ingredients into a Boston shaker glass half filled with ice. Stir* quickly for about 30 seconds. Strain into cocktail glass of your choice (since we are not making a traditional Pina Colada, we don’t have to be traditional about glass choice, anything goes). 

* Pineapple juice creates foam when shaken, so any cocktail that includes it will have a layer of foam on top once poured into the glass. For this particular mix I prefer not to have foam, however if you don’t mind it (or even prefer it) go ahead and shake the cocktail as you normally would. A pretty touch in this case is to top the drink with a few pieces of toasted coconut since it will float nicely on top of the foam. 

Enjoy!