Tasty Tuesday: Prickly Pear Cocktail and Mocktail

It’s all things cactus this week on the blog, inspired by my recent trip to Phoenix! I had so much fun in the desert, and BONUS, I got to be in charge of party decor while I was there, so cactus was the obvious choice 🙂 Here are some snapshots from my trip!

Processed with VSCO with a5 preset

Processed with VSCO with c1 preset

It was such a great week with my sorority sisters! And, I loved that I got to share my passion for parties with my sisters, too! Yesterday, I blogged all about my party decor. You can get those details here.

Today I’m excited to share a fun cactus-inspired cocktail and mocktail, both tried and tested, and both were a hit! so get yourself these ingredients and party like a cactus this weekend!

First up, I’ll share the mocktail ingredients for Prickly Pear Punch. I made two batches of this punch for my Girl Scout troop’s end of year party, and I had to remake it. twice. It was such a hit!

Here’s what you need to make two pitchers full…

prickly punch

1 cup of prickly pear syrup (I ordered mine from here)
A 2-liter of gingerale
1/2 cup lime juice
Slices of lime (for garnish)
Ice

I mixed 1/2 cup of syrup, 1 liter of ginger ale, and 1/4 lime juice in each pitcher, stirred it, then let it sit in the fridge to get chilled. I sliced the limes and put those in a bowl for the mocktail garnish.

It really was a great drink! It was super refreshing, and had the perfect amount of tartness and sweetness. I highly recommend it for your next summer party! I had a big bowl of ice sitting next to the pitchers, along with the lime slices and cups, so guests could serve themselves.

Now, onto the cocktail! I was inspired by my time in Phoenix at the Swim-Up Bar (yes, ma’am!!). They served a delicious Prickly Pear Margarita, and since I had just created my Prickly Pear Punch, I was definitely intrigued. I perused Pinterest for a while in search of the perfect recipe, and ultimately combined a few recipes to create my own.

Here’s what I used to create two cocktails…

cactus cocktail 12

1/2 cup of fresh squeezed lime juice
3/4 cup prickly pear syrup
3/4 cup Cointreau
3/4 cup tequila
Salt (for rim)
Lime slices (for garnish)

I mixed the lime juice, syrup, Cointreau, and tequila in a cocktail shaker. Next, I rubbed the juiced lime around the rim of my cactus glass (from here), then salted it. Then I added crushed ice to the glass.