Lava Flow

If you’ve ever stepped foot in Hawaii, you’ve probably partaken in a lava flow or two. This ubiquitous Hawaiian cocktail (named for the visual effect created by pouring a piña colada over rum-doused strawberry puree) is probably at the heart of so many unfortunately timed holiday hangovers. Like most tropical beverages, the lava flow presents itself as a seemingly innocuous drink (there’s a whole banana in it – it’s basically health food!) while actually disguising a galling amount of alcohol behind its sweet façade. This is not a drink to indulge in at lunchtime, unless the goal is to live out your dream of achieving a 3 hour nap in full daylight. Delicious but dangerous, the lava flow sees you underestimating it and does not suffer fools lightly. Consider yourself warned (and if you’ve already indulged in one, most likely drunk as well).

Lava Flow

Serves 2

*You may notice that the ingredients are mostly listed in ounces – this means that you can measure most of them out of a standard-sized shot glass, which is usually a 1-oz pour.

Ingredients:

4 oz frozen strawberries (this is roughly 10 strawberries, but weights will vary substantially!)
2 oz white rum
2 oz coconut rum (or another 1 ½ oz white rum + ½ oz sweetened cream of coconut)
4 oz pineapple juice
2 oz sweetened cream of coconut (I used this one – it was in the drinks aisle of the store)
1 small banana, cut into chunks and frozen for at least 3 hours
Strawberries and maraschino cherries, for serving

Directions:

Place frozen strawberries and both rums in a blender. Blend until well pureed. Transfer the mixture to a measuring cup and set aside. Clean the blender well and re-use it to blend together the remaining ingredients until smooth. Pour the strawberry puree into 2 cocktail glasses, filling each about 1/3 of the way up. Slowly and gently pour the pineapple-banana mixture over the strawberry puree, creating a rippled lava flow-like effect. Continue pouring until the glass is full to the brim. Garnish with strawberries and maraschino cherries. Make drunken plans that will never be realized.