‘Tis the season when Baltimore’s favorite watering holes do the most to make spirits bright.
And perhaps because rum has been a trending liquor in the city for a few years (see spots like Pink Flamingo, The Coral Wig, The Undefeated, and The Ready Room by Old Line Spirits), or perhaps because Bad Bunny is on our collective minds with his highly anticipated Super Bowl show in February, it seems the once hard-to-find coquito—the creamy, coconutty, warm-spiced holiday libation with origins in Puerto Rico—is becoming more mainstream.
The drink is a marker of the holiday season for Borinqueños, whose recipes that celebrate the flavors and spirit of the island are often passed down from one generation to the next.
With the holiday season in full swing—and National Coquito Day around the corner on Dec. 21—it’s the perfect time to get a taste of the “little coconut” cocktail, which was voted No. 1 in the world this year by TasteAtlas. Bundle up and venture out to the following local spots to get that Christmas-in-the-Caribbean kind of feeling.
The Empanada Lady
Locally, Elisa Milan, more fondly known as The Empanada Lady, helped pull coquito out of the “if you know, you know” realm. The Puerto Rican chef’s coquito was first put on the map at her Motor House pop-ups in 2019. Now, at her downtown brick-and-mortar, which opened in 2023, bottles of her family recipe move fast once Thanksgiving hits.
But if you ask Milan, coquito was never meant to be some rare, chased-down specialty drink. It’s a communal, family thing. “It’s not usually like this big for-sale thing,” she says. “It’s usually like, I’m making some, and here’s a bottle [to share].”
Milan’s classic version is rooted in her grandmother’s recipe, using a spice “tea” brewed separately—cinnamon, clove, star anise, vanilla, nutmeg, “and some other little spices”—then strained and folded into coconut cream and coconut milk so the flavors marry.
Though some refer to coquito as the Puerto Rican eggnog, Milan says she “gets a little ticked” at the comparison. While Milan has never had eggnog, she describes coquito as “the traditional Puerto Rican holiday drink with rum—rich, coconut-forward, and layered with familiar holiday spices.”
Bottles of her classic coquito run $30, with a $35 vegan version that skips the dairy and leans fully into the coconut. You can also sip it by the glass for $11 at the bar, and if you’re not into rum (the version here is with Don Q), you can add tequila, vodka, or whiskey.
If you don’t want to show up to your holiday celebrations empty-handed, The Empanada Lady will also be open with bottles for purchase on Christmas Eve from 4–8 p.m. And if you’re shopping early, thanks to Milan’s partnership with The Good Peace, a local candle shop by Amber Charisse, you can also gift a loved one a signature coquito candle on Dec. 21
The Undefeated
The house coquito at this Cuban, Key West-inspired establishment on Thames Street in Fells Point (you can almost miss the cozy bar among its rowdy neighbors, so look out for the giant marlin) is “super traditional and true to our concept drink,” says bar manager Zak El-Dahabi.
Since debuting it earlier this month, the team is routinely batching eight to 10 liters of their iteration made with Puerto Rican Ron del Barrilito rum, which has notes of sherry and slight oak to balance out the sweetness of the condensed milk and spices. Steeped and left to sit to fortify its flavors, the coquito here is prepped beforehand with a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and star anise.
El-Dahabi assures that even if you don’t like coconut or eggnog, you’ll like this $16 drink. (He says first-timers have even called it an evocation of “Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal milk.”) If you’re an espresso fan, ask for the secret- menu Coquito Espresso Martini. And if you are so inclined to take a bottle home, you can work it out with the team.
Mama Koko’s
For drinkers who want a coquito that fuses both tradition and technique, DMV cocktail content creator Tassia Lacerda (@peaceloveandcocktails) has brought her award-winning coquito, Luz de Coco, to Mama Koko’s in Old Goucher, where it will be served until Dec. 21.
Since opening last year, Mama Koko’s has become known for its bespoke cocktails, and this modernized version fits right in. The Luz de Coco is a clarified coquito that reimagines the Puerto Rican holiday classic with a lighter, silkier profile. Using methods like lactic acid clarification and toasted coconut infusions, Lacerda strips the drink of heaviness while preserving its core flavors: coconut, warm spice, and rum. The result is clean and elegant, but still unmistakably coquito.
This balance earned her top honors earlier this year at White Plates Black Faces‘ annual Coquito Wars. If you can’t make it to Mama Koko’s for National Coquito Day, but you’re up for a winter road trip, the cocktail competition returns to Washington, D.C. on Monday, Jan. 12 at Alegria at Bryant Street Market. Tickets are $15 and include two hours of unlimited tastings, plus a chance to vote for the People’s Choice winner.