When it comes to great cocktail recipes, a few things are usually present. You need a standup spirit, a good mixer, and often a nice bracing hit of citrus for balance. But what of the more exciting additions like prickly pear that we tend to overlook (or use in different arenas)?
The flowering cactus produces edible fruit that’s both wildly colorful and downright delicious. The flavor is a bit like melon or strawberry, sometimes showing a touch of bubble gum or hibiscus. And it’s a great thing to have in your cocktail-making arsenal, and not just as a garnish.
“Prickly pear grows naturally in the southwest USA and throughout Mexico,” says Brandon Ristaino. He’s the beverage director and cofounder of Good Lion Hospitality in Santa Barbara. The firm runs bars like the Bank of Italy in Ventura and Test Pilot.
He says prickly pear can have a candy-like sweetness and does especially well with everything from produce and spirits to fermented beverages from the southwest and south of the border. “It’s a natural fit for un-aged agave spirits,” he continues. “We really like to whip it into a syrup, either via a puree or via fresh sourcing, and use it in a shaken cocktail like a Margarita variation.”
But there’s more. He also likes to take advantage of a good local prickly pear eau de vie or brandy, like the one from Ventura Spirits. “This spirit leans savory and vegetal, though some of the fun fruit flavor is still present. It’s a lighter brandy (more akin to a pear brandy than a grappa for example), and we will add this to a shaken or stirred agave, Pisco, or lightly aged rum to take advantage of its complexity. If you’re really feeling chipper, give the combination of a syrup and brandy a crack as cocktail modifiers in the same drink. The syrup would act as treble notes while the brandy would be supporting the cocktail like base notes.”
There are health benefits too. Prickly pear is known to assist skin and reduce blood sugar content. It’s a native plant in many places and once you remove the skin, you can eat the fruit raw. And, whatever you don’t use in your cocktails, you can preserve and use with other things.
Iterations like prickly pear syrup are great over French toast or mixed into some tonic water. Use it like you might berries in your favorite baked good recipe or plug it into your next marinade just in time for grilling season. If you buy the whole cactus pad at the store, you can use the green flesh (otherwise known as nopal) in any number of tasty Mexican dishes, from salads to soups.
But where the prickly pear really shines is in a cocktail, where its dazzling color and complementary flavors can bask in the glass and take in the spotlight. It adds some flair that’ll make you next happy hour all the more unique and you can get it in a number of forms at the store, should you not feel up for making your own cordials, purees, or syrups.
Try it on a Mojito or a Moscow Mule. Blend it up with an agave spirit you might not be taking full advantage of, like sotol. Alternatively, throw it in your spritz or simply top your brunch Champagne with some prickly pear syrup. There’s so much versatility to work with and you get to get whisked away to the desert in the process, if only in your mind.
Check out the prickly pear-forward recipe below and let it inspire you to impart a little SW into your cocktail game at home.
Nopal Street Cooler
This one comes on behalf of Good Lion Hospitality and really shows off the floral color prickly pear can impart. It’s also a nice balancing act between the pepper of agave spirits, tropical nature of banana, and the acidic kick of fresh citrus. We suggest a milder mezcal, at least to begin with, but as always do play around according to taste.
Ingredients:
- 1 ounce mezcal
- 1/2 ounce blanco tequila
- 1/4 ounce Giffard Banana Liqueur
- 3/4 ounce grapefruit juice
- 1/2 ounce lime juice
- 1/2 ounce prickly pear syrup*
* Prickly Pear Syrup: Combine 1 part prickly pear puree to 1 part organic white sugar. Blend or emulsify and refrigerate. Syrup lasts 2 weeks.
Method:
- Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker.
- Shake with ice, and strain into a double old fashioned glass with a big ice cube.
- Garnish with lime wedge (to add more acid to taste if needed), and rim glass with your favorite savory salt (sal de guisado, tajin, sea salt, etc).
We’ve got some related material here at The Manual that can take your mixology approach to the next level. Check out our agave spirits guide and our feature on lesser-known liqueurs. Happy mixing!
