12 Caribbean cocktails to know, from Trinidad Sour to Ti' Punch

The Caribbean cocktails every host should know are mostly simple: rum, lime, sugar and one or two signature touches. This list covers 12 of them, starting with the Trinidad drinks, then the classics from Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Bermuda, the French Caribbean and Jamaica, with where each comes from and how to make it.

Caribbean cocktails list at a glance

First, the bitters: why Angostura matters

Half the drinks on this list use Angostura aromatic bitters, made in Port of Spain. Dr Johann Siegert, surgeon general in Simón Bolívar's army, began selling the bitters in 1824 in Venezuela. In 1875 his sons moved production from Ciudad Bolívar, the town once called Angostura, to Port of Spain, where the bitters are still made.

The oversized label shows a medal won at the 1873 Vienna World's Fair. In Drinks International's 2026 Brands Report, Angostura was named the number one best-selling and number one top-trending cocktail bitters. The bitters are about 44.7% alcohol, which matters if you are making drinks for non-drinkers.

1. Queen's Park Swizzle

Named after the Queen's Park Hotel in Port of Spain, which opened on 15 January 1895. Difford's Guide says the drink was likely created soon after, and in 1946 Trader Vic called it "the most delightful form of anesthesia given out today."

Recipe (Difford's Guide): bruise 8 mint leaves in a chilled tall glass, add 60 ml gold rum, 22.5 ml lime juice, 15 ml rich demerara syrup and 2 dashes of Angostura. Fill two-thirds with crushed ice and swizzle until the glass frosts, then top with more crushed ice. Many bartenders add extra bitters on top for the red-and-green layers.

2. Trinidad Sour

Not from Trinidad at all, but impossible without it. Giuseppe Gonzalez created it in 2009 at the Clover Club in Brooklyn, inspired by Valentino Bolognese's Trinidad Especial. Bitters are normally measured in dashes. Here they are the base spirit.

Recipe (Difford's Guide): shake 45 ml Angostura bitters, 15 ml rye whiskey, 30 ml orgeat and 22.5 ml fresh lemon juice hard with ice and fine strain into a chilled coupe. Orgeat is an almond syrup, so warn guests with nut allergies.

3. Trinidad rum punch

"One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak": lime, syrup, rum and water, with Angostura and nutmeg. It is the drink at almost every Trini lime. Our Trinidad rum punch recipe gives measures for one glass up to a 5-litre batch.

4. Ponche de creme

Trinidad's Christmas eggnog, related to Venezuela's ponche crema, with lime zest and Angostura added. Cook the egg base to make it safely. Our ponche de creme recipe covers classic, egg-free and alcohol-free versions.

5. Rum and coconut water

The simplest Trini serve: cold coconut water, often bought from the vendors around the Queen's Park Savannah, used to chase or mix rum at house limes. Try 45 ml of rum with 120–150 ml of coconut water over ice and a squeeze of lime. More ideas in our coconut water cocktails guide.

6. Daiquiri (Cuba)

Named after Daiquirí, a beach and iron mine near Santiago de Cuba. American mining engineer Jennings Cox is widely credited with creating it around 1898.

Recipe: stir 2 bar spoons of fine sugar into 20 ml lime juice until dissolved, add 60 ml white rum, shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

7. Mojito (Cuba)

Havana is credited as its birthplace, though the exact origin is debated. The name may come from mojo, a Cuban lime seasoning.

Recipe (IBA): muddle 6 mint sprigs with 20 ml sugar syrup and 20 ml lime juice, fill a tall glass with ice, add 45 ml white rum, top with soda and stir gently.

8. Piña colada (Puerto Rico)

The Caribe Hilton in San Juan credits bartender Ramón "Monchito" Marrero with creating it in 1954, though other bartenders have competing claims. Puerto Rico made it its official drink in 1978.

Recipe: blend or shake 50 ml white rum, 30 ml cream of coconut and 50 ml pineapple juice with ice. Garnish with pineapple.

9. Painkiller (British Virgin Islands)

Created in the 1970s at the Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke. Pusser's Rum filed a US trademark on the name and recipe in 1989.

Recipe: shake 2–4 parts rum, 4 parts pineapple juice, 1 part cream of coconut and 1 part orange juice with ice, pour over ice and grate nutmeg on top.

10. Rum and ginger beer (Dark 'n' Stormy)

Gosling's says the drink was invented in Bermuda shortly after the First World War. Bermuda sits in the Atlantic rather than the Caribbean, but the drink belongs in the family. "Dark 'n Stormy" is a registered trademark tied to Gosling's Black Seal rum, so on your own menu, call it rum and ginger beer if you use another rum.

Recipe: fill a highball with ice, add 100 ml ginger beer, float 60 ml dark rum on top and add a lime wedge.

11. Ti' Punch (Martinique and Guadeloupe)

The national cocktail of Martinique and Guadeloupe, made with rhum agricole (rum distilled from fresh cane juice), a little lime and cane syrup. The tradition is "chacun prépare sa propre mort", meaning each person prepares their own: the host sets out the rum, limes, syrup and glasses, and every guest mixes to taste.

12. Planter's Punch (Jamaica)

Long associated with Jamaica, and one of the oldest rum punches still on bar menus.

Recipe (IBA): build 45 ml Jamaican rum, 15 ml lime juice and 30 ml sugar cane juice over ice and garnish with orange zest. Many bars add Angostura and top with soda.

How to use this list at your event

Pick two or three, not twelve. A Queen's Park Swizzle and a rum punch say "Trinidad" straight away, and a piña colada pleases almost everyone. Add one mocktail and you have a menu. For naming and presenting them, see our signature cocktail ideas for weddings.

Next steps

Want to learn to make these properly? Our The Art of Mixology courses cover the classics hands-on, and a certificate is awarded on completion.