Bar Pros Give Us All The Ways To Use Coconut Water In Cocktails

Coconut water is a nutrient-rich, tasty way to drink something more flavorful than regular water but still on the healthier side. It is 94% water with very little fat, and can be the source of potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Coconut water has it all — so why not make it more fun? Using coconut water in your cocktails is the exact way to do that.

Many bartenders are very particular about the type of water they use in the cocktails they make. With many different ways to use water in a drink — like hard versus soft water, or the quality of the ice – bartenders are always trying to perfect their methods. Using coconut water both to enhance the flavor and provide dilution to a cocktail may be the trick you need to make your cocktails bar worthy.

We spoke to Channing Centeno, a Filipino bartender and sommelier for Vita Coco. Centeno gave us his insight to how coconut water can be best used in cocktails, as did various other cocktail and coconut water experts, including Bridget Albert, Senior Director of External Communications and host of the Served Up podcast; Jacoby Morciglio, bar manager at Adrift Tiki Bar; and Lindsey Neumayer, owner of the food blog A Recipe For Fun.

Coconut water has many vitamins and nutrients to keep you hydrated, which is especially important when consuming alcohol. With added potassium and vitamin C, among others, coconut water is a great alternative to bar mixers for cocktails. Because it provides hydration, drinking cocktails with coconut water could mean less of a hangover the following day.

Some of the most pure coconut water brands add little to no sugar to its products, and according to Bridget Albert, a mixologist at Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits, compared to sugary cocktail mixers, this keeps coconut water low in calories. Vita Coco, for example is less than 1% sugar, 2% sodium, and 4% carbs, yet it has 10% of potassium and 40% of vitamin C. According to Jacoby Morciglio, as long as coconut water has very little sugar and no forced carbonation, it is fairly easy to find a high-quality coconut water brand, and switching to one will elevate your drinking experience.

While this article will focus on how to effectively use coconut water in cocktails, Albert notes that coconut water can be used in mocktails as well for better hydration. Naturally, alcohol will dehydrate you, so coconut water can only do so much to aid in hydration. If you are having a non-alcoholic drink, however, the natural electrolytes in the coconut water, like sodium, will work extremely well to keep you hydrated for longer throughout your night.

Have you ever wondered what really is the purpose of a bartender shaking or stirring your drink before pouring it for you? Well, in addition to giving it a nice chill, bartenders shake and stir drinks with ice in order to dilute them, which makes the drink more palatable with balanced flavors, according to Channing Centeno. Centeno says it is ideal for each cocktail to have somewhere around a 20% dilution rate; without this, any given drink would taste too sweet or too sour. Diluting cocktails calms the flavors, and coconut water can make this process — and your drink — smoother.

The flavor profile of coconut water is sweet and nutty with a hint of a tropical flavor to it — it is refreshing, and by adding in just this one ingredient a cocktail would be well diluted without the need for shaking. The next time you are thinking about shaking your cocktail, try just adding a splash or two of coconut water to it instead — the flavors will balance themselves out and leave you with a smooth, easy-to-sip cocktail that is as delicious as it is refreshing.

It is very similar to making coffee ice cubes so your iced coffee does not get watered down, or making orange juice ice cubes for mimosas. Using coconut water to make your ice cubes is the perfect way to work on diluting your cocktail, as mentioned above, but doing it with flavor. You can use these ice cubes to shake your cocktail, stir it, or simply pour your spirit of choice over those ice cubes. Whatever you choose, coconut water ice cubes are bound to be better than regular ice cubes.

According to Channing Centeno, "Shaking a margarita, gimlet, or any sour-style drink with coconut water ice adds wonderfully tropical and refreshing elements to any cocktail." This is as compared to regular ice cubes, which will just provide more dilution than is necessary in a cocktail. Devoid of artificial sweeteners, the coconut water cubes will not make a drink taste overly sweet or syrupy. Plus, depending on what kind of cocktail you are going for, you can make unique coconut ice cubes by adding fruit before freezing the ice cube tray — consider using pineapple, papaya, or other tropical fruits.

Another alternative is to use fruit-flavored coconut water. Vita Coco has a peach mango option, and Goya has a guava flavor, among other brands. Centeno notes that coconut water ice cubes are also great for whiskey or dark rum for a smooth night cap.

Espresso martinis are popular right now, and what better way to make a unique version than by incorporating coconut water? According to Channing Centeno, you can use coconut water as the base of your cold brew and use that for an espresso martini. If you don't have access to espresso at home, you can use cold brew concentrate in its place.

To do this, you should steep your favorite coffee grounds in water, using a 1-to-4 ratio (in ounces). Rather than using regular water, you can steep your grounds in coconut water to add a sweet, nutty flavor to your cold brew concentrate and avoid bitterness in your espresso martini. You can also try a similar technique with iced tea.

Steep your tea leaves or tea bags in coconut water rather than regular water, and you can use this elevated iced tea mixture in your next Arnold Palmer — just add lemonade. If you want to spike it, you can use bourbon or whiskey, both of which would complement the coconut water flavors. To combine some of these tips, you can use coconut water ice cubes in this cocktail to really hammer home the flavors. However, be careful not to add too much coconut water to any one drink; according to Jacoby Morciglio, "Excess coconut water can be quite dangerous with its high level of potassium."

If you do not mind leaving behind a little bit of fizz, replacing soda water in cocktails with coconut water is a great way to elevate a drink. This works especially well with already-tropical drinks, like mojitos and piña coladas. Mojitos are typically made with mint, white rum, lime juice, simple syrup, and club soda, but according to Bridget Albert, you can use coconut water instead of club soda to enhance a mojito's tropical flavors.

The same is true of a piña colada, some of which are made by combining club soda with cream of coconut, crushed pineapple, and pineapple juice. If coconut is one of your favorite flavors, a piña colada is the perfect way to incorporate coconut water and really maximize the coconut flavors. You can also use coconut water ice cubes in a frozen piña colada before you blend it to get even more coconut flavor.

Replacing soda water with coconut water in non-alcoholic cocktails is also a great option for added hydration. Since mocktails already have no alcohol, adding coconut water rather than soda water adds extra electrolytes, according to Jacoby Morciglio, which will add extra hydration and flavor. Plus, "The coconut water adds a depth that most N/A drinks can't reach," says Morciglio.

Although coconut water is extremely versatile and can work with many ingredients, it is always best to avoid overcomplicating the cocktail recipe you incorporate coconut water in. Part of the allure of coconut water is that it is pure, healthy, and flavorful, as compared to alternative mixers, and adding too many ingredients to it can bog it down.

Instead, keep it simple: Jacoby Morciglio recommends scotch and coconut water as a Carribean staple. "This was mind-blowing," Morciglio said. "The slightly salty, ultra-refreshing quality of the coconut water elevates the smoke quality of the scotch." Morciglio also had a member of his team make a non-alcoholic Blue Hawaiian using coconut water, which he believes added more depth and flavor to the classic tropical drink.

Lindsey Neumayer believes in keeping it simple with coconut water, too. "When all else fails, you can never go wrong with coconut water, lime juice, and your rum of choice for a refreshing cocktail that'll put you in a Caribbean vacation state of mind," Neumayer says. Coconut water can stand on its own, pairing well with many fruity flavors, as well as with many dark, distilled spirits like rum and scotch.

Hosting gatherings can be quite chaotic, and adding to that chaos is the need to make individual cocktails for each guest. Having freezer door drinks is the perfect way to give your guests a great-tasting cocktail without so much of a hassle. A freezer door drink is a big-batch cocktail that is usually stored in the original liquor bottle; for example, if you're making freezer door margaritas, you'd mix around 750 milliliters of margarita and store it in an empty bottle of tequila, leaving it in the fridge so your guests can serve themselves.

Incorporating coconut water into your freezer door cocktails is the perfect way to get a nice dilution on your drinks without having to shake each one individually. According to Jacoby Morciglio, "Because of its high water content, we can play around with the substitution of water.... We can dilute [cocktail mixtures] down with coconut water instead to balance the drink and add a unique twist." Morciglio recommends adding coconut water to freezer door martinis, which consist of water, dry vermouth, and gin — or vodka, if that's your preference.

Any cocktail can be turned into a freezer door cocktail. As long as you choose a high-proof alcohol and avoid too many mixers, you'll be well equipped with delicious, on-demand cocktails for your next gathering. By adding coconut water, you avoid the need for too many mixers, since coconut water imbues its own sweet, nutty flavors into the cocktail.

Like any product, with coconut water, you have to watch out for preservatives and too many added ingredients. Part of the reason so many people love coconut water is because it is natural, and it is best to stick with brands that keep it that way. Lindsey Neumayer notes that canned coconut water is cheaper, but refrigerated coconut water is always best.

"In general, the coconut waters that need to be stored in the fridge haven't been as heavily pasteurized and don't contain as many preservatives, so the flavor profile is much more clean and pure," says Neumayer. In addition, you should always check the ingredients on the coconut water you purchase to take note of any preservatives or extra sugars being added. These can negatively affect the flavor of your cocktails.

Channing Centeno of Vita Coco believes fresh coconuts from a local grower are the ideal places to get coconut water, as does Jacoby Morciglio. Morciglio suggests Thai coconuts specifically, but both acknowledge that fresh coconuts are hard to come by. Morciglio says when he does not have access to fresh coconuts, he and his team usually get Vita Coco. Regardless of the coconut water brand you choose, Centeno recommends a shelf-stable coconut water for ease — these include boxed, bottled, or canned options.

Although coconut water is a very versatile ingredient to add to cocktails, there are some drinks that experts say coconut water would just not work in. Lindsey Neumayer,  notes that she "wouldn't use coconut water in cocktails that are served hot, or that have prominently savory or overly bitter flavors, as the delicate flavor could be overpowered." As such, you might want to avoid adding coconut water to boozy hot chocolate, spiked apple cider, or other typically warm drinks.

In addition to hot drinks, Bridget Albert notes that some cocktails already have quite distinct flavors, and the addition of coconut water would be too overwhelming to add to those flavors. An example is a Negroni, which Albert says coconut water would clash with. Negronis are made with gin, vermouth, and Campari, creating a unique flavor that, when combined with the distinct nutty, tropical flavors in coconut water, would not mend well.

The best way to use coconut water is to stick with complementary flavors that will be enhanced by it, not more bitter flavors that will clash. Channing Centeno, a sommelier with Vita Coco, recommends drinks like a mango daiquiri, pineapple-flavored cocktails, and a spiced old fashioned. By adding coconut water to fruity and tropical flavors, or to whiskey, scotch, or rum, you will elevate your cocktail game.