Guarapita Cocktail Recipe
A sweet, punchy Venezuelan beach drink of rum and passion fruit juice that hides its strength completely.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Highball glass
- ABV: 10%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- White rum60 ml (2 oz)
- Passion fruit juice150 ml (5.1 oz)
- Simple syrup15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Fresh lime juice10 ml (0.3 oz)
How to Make It
- Stir the passion fruit juice with the sugar syrup until the sugar dissolves.
- Add the rum and the lime juice and mix well.
- Chill thoroughly in the fridge or in a bottle.
- Pour over plenty of ice and serve very cold.
Garnish
None — traditionally poured straight over ice
What it tastes like
The sweetness is pronounced, fruit notes come forward and there is pineapple and passion fruit in it.
The technique
Built in the glass. Ice goes into the serving glass, the ingredients go on top, and you stir once if at all. Anything carbonated goes in LAST and never gets stirred; every turn of the spoon costs you bubbles. Fill the glass to the rim with ice: less ice melts faster, not slower.
Glass and ice
A tall, narrow highball. The narrowness does real work — less surface area means the carbonation lasts longer and the ice melts more slowly.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- White rum
- The Cuban style is light and dry, the Puerto Rican a little rounder. It is the base of the mojito and the daiquiri; swap in gold rum and the drink turns sweeter.
- Simple syrup
- One part sugar to one part water, stirred until it dissolves — no need to boil it. Keeps a month in the fridge. No syrup? Use the same amount of honey, loosened with a little water.
- Fresh lime juice
- Freshly squeezed lime. Bottled lime tastes cooked and flat; one lime gives about 30 ml. If you have none, half lemon and half grapefruit juice comes closest.
The Story
Named after guarapo, the sugar-cane drink, guarapita is associated with Venezuela's coast and student parties, where it is famously carried around in plastic bottles.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Guarapita mixed?
- It is built in the glass and served in a highball glass.
- How strong is a Guarapita?
- Roughly 10% ABV as served — lighter than a beer — a long-conversation drink that takes a second round.
- Can a Guarapita be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Guarapita hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.