Have you ever heard of the drink called a Painkiller? If you have spent time in the Caribbean you probably have. The Painkiller is a pretty high-calorie drink. This skinny painkiller has the same great taste with fewer calories.
The first time I heard about a Painkiller was at my brother-in-law's wedding in St. Croix about 8 years ago. It was a popular drink among his friends along with a Bushwacker. My husband and his father enjoyed their share as well.
The Painkillers were too full of calories for me. An original Painkiller is made of the following ingredients:
- Dark rum
- Pineapple juice
- Orange juice
- Cream of Coconut
One ounce of cream of coconut is 129 calories. Add in the rum pineapple juice and orange juice and you have a drink that contains: 290 calories and 29 grams of sugar according to Spark People.
I can't even begin to figure out how many calories they consumed that weekend!
Luckily there are tons of drinks on the market now that have lower calories and sugar that you can use to mimic the flavors in many traditional cocktails.
Bai has a lot of great fruit-flavored options to use as mixers.
Ingredients needed to make a Skinny Painkiller:
- Bai Molokai Coconut
- Bai Costa Rica Clementine
- Pineapple Juice (can you Libby's light)
- Unsweetened Coconut Milk Drink
- Coconut flavored Rum
- Dark Rum
- Nutmeg
Recipe
Skinny Painkiller
Ingredients
- 3 ounce Pineapple Juice
- 1 ounce Bai Costa Rica Clementine
- 1 ounce Bai Molokai Coconut
- 1 ounce Unsweetened Coconut Milk
- 1 ounce Coconut Flavored Rum
- 1 ounce Dark Rum
- Dash of Nutmeg
Instructions
- In a small pitcher or shaker combine liquid ingredients.
- Stir to combine.
- Pour drink over ice, dividing between 2 glasses.
- Garnish with nutmeg.
Notes
- To reduce the calorie more you can use light Pineapple juice made by Libby's
- If you want a frozen drink place all ingredients into a blender instead of over ice.
- Serve with a pineapple garnish if you wish.
Nutrition
Gina B says
I have no idea who the Zax Brown Band is but it looks like a great time! Glad there were no "funny smells," and the SEPTA story is a riot. The drink, however, looks AMAZING!! YUM.
Ashley @ Fit Mitten Kitchen says
Painkillers!! Those were THE drink to have on St. John. That and BBC and Bushwackers! 😀 We were on St. John for my brothers wedding in May. So beautiful. Definitely sharing this with friends and fam that went 🙂 And really, I don't even have cocktails much (way too sweet with too many sugary calories!) but this looks like something I could get on board with. And I am so obsessed with Bai coconut too! 🙂
Katie (mom's kitchen handbook) says
My kind of cocktail! Pinning!
Julia says
I love ZBB and this sounds like an awesome cocktail.
Sarah Schmidt says
Jen- this cocktail is AWESOME! I've made it the last two weekends. I even made it tonight without the coconut milk and still tastes fabulous. You're a rockstar! Thanks!
Jennifer Lynn-Pullman says
Thanks Sarah! So glad you like it.
Terri S says
I was trying to figure out how this recipe could be so much lower in calories, since it contains the same amount of rum and the same 1 ounce of cream of coconut. Total recipe inout is 8 ounces,, as with most traditional Painkiller recipes. Then I realized that you're dividing your recipe in two, so each serving is half as much. So the caloric change is not 120 calories as compared to 400 as you've stated, but 240 as compared to 339 as I calculated for a traditional recipe. I will still try your recipe if the Bai components can be found at a reasonable price, but feel this is a bit deceptive nonetheless.
Jennifer Lynn-Pullman says
Hi Terri! Thanks for commenting. Actually, the recipe does not contain Cream of Coconut. I do discuss in the post the fact that I don't use it and that's what makes this drink lower in calories. In the recipe you with see 1 ounce of Coconut Milk, which has far less calories compared to Cream of Coconut. I have updated the post to include the complete nutrition facts for you. Enjoy!!
Natalie says
Have you tried the Bai Puna Coconut (pineapple/coconut) flavor instead of pineapple juice? Just curious if it's as good.
Mike says
Hi Jennifer,
This is great info and is exactly what both my wife and I look for in a drink. How to make it less calories and still enjoyable. Just getting back from them Caribbean Islands last week and had a few Painkillers packed with calories by the locals and we are talking about making them tomorrow night which lead me to your post. Perfect find for us and cant wait to try.
We also really enjoy a shot of tequila in a ice filled 16 once glass with flavored calorie free seltzer water and a slice of fruit or strawberries. Very refreshing on a summer weekend night. Who am I kidding all year round on the weekend night is a good time also to enjoy them for me.
Thanks again for the post printing out your recipe now.
Mary Beth says
Could you make this recipe with just a dark rum? Or, would that change the drink too much?
Jennifer Lynn-Pullman says
The malibu gives the extra bit of coconut flavor that you won't have since the recipe doesn't use the normal cream of coconut that the traditional recipe uses. This is done to decrease the calories and fat. You could maybe do half and half.
Mary Bet says
Do you know how many Weight Watcher points this drink would be?
Jennifer Lynn-Pullman says
I don't know the points but I can find out for you once I do the nutrition analysis.
Beth Phillips says
I don’t see how it can 0 carbs cause pineapple juice has carbs and so does Malibu rum
Jennifer Lynn-Pullman says
Thanks for noticing Beth. Apparently, the nutrition info was erased. I just went in a fix the recipe card.