Prickly Pear Margarita

Sweet and tangy prickly pear margarita is the perfect summer drink! Made with tequila, triple sec, lime and prickly pear syrup.

Hey all! It's Trevor, site maintainer and occasional hand model for BEYOND THE NOMS. I'm coming to you today to give you a taste of one of the drinks we discovered during our travels: the prickly pear margarita!

Unlike the classic, this margarita turns down some of the lime-y flavor and replaces it with a sweet, fruity kick delivered by a rare ingredient: prickly pear syrup.

The Prickly Pear Story

In November 2018, Jenny and I journeyed together to Arizona on a quest to see the Grand Canyon. After landing in Phoenix and picking up our rental SUV, we and two friends raced north through the desert to Flagstaff. On the way we stopped at a desert botanical garden, where we observed flat cacti with oddly-shaped, thorny purple fruits growing on them. These were called opuntia cacti, and their fruits prickly pears.

As the four of us sat down to dinner a few days later, we scanned the drink menu and came upon something called a prickly pear margarita. The drink was sweet and dangerous, the alcohol within masked by the sweet and tangy taste of the syrup of the prickly pear fruit. It instantly became one of our favorites, and would later be served as one of the signature drinks at our wedding!

Drink Ingredients

The prickly pear margarita only needs a few ingredients:

• Silver tequila - Patrón preferred or your favorite tequila
• Triple sec - we used Cointreau
• Limes
• Prickly pear syrup - Amazon or your local liquor store

Mixing a Prickly Pear Margarita

For presentation, rim two glasses with your choice of salt or sugar (for this sweeter drink I prefer the sugar). Pour salt or sugar onto a small plate. Take a small slice of lime and rub it around the rim of your glasses. Roll the top of the glasses in the salt/sugar until a thin layer sticks to the rim.

Start mixing your drink by adding a lot of ice to your cocktail shaker: fill it up! Pour two shots of your tequila of choice into the shaker. Follow it up with a shot and a half of triple sec, and then with the juice of a whole, squeezed lime.

The last addition is a half shot of the coveted prickly pear syrup. Cover and shake vigorously.

Add ice to your salt-or-sugar rimmed glasses. Strain the margarita evenly between two glasses. Cut lime wedges and add them to the lip.

Finally: sip while watching the sun set over the Arizona desert! Or just enjoy it happily from the comfort of your own home.