The cocktail piña colada is first seen in English as a loanword from Spanish in 1920. The modern piña colada is actually more recent than that, created in Puerto Rico in 1954. Before that, it referred to a traditional mixed drink with pineapple and rum, only occasionally including coconut.

Literally translated, piña colada means “strained pineapple”. Piña descends from Classical Latin pīnea, meaning “pine”. As in English, the word was co-opted to describe pineapples after their introduction to the Old World in the 1500s. Colada descends from Classical Latin cōlāre, meaning “sifted”.

While popular enough to be declared Puerto Rico’s official drink in 1978, the cocktail remained relatively unknown. Its lucky break was when British-American singer-songwriter Rupert Holmes wrote the song Escape in 1979. Shortly before its release, Holmes had second thoughts about its refrain, “If you like Humphrey Bogart and getting caught in the rain”, and replaced the actor’s name with an tropical cocktail that still fit the rhythm. The modified song was a smash hit and propelled the cocktail to ubiquity. Piña coladas were added to the IBA’s official cocktail recipes in 1987.