If you’ve never tried prickly pear, you’re in for a treat! Prickly pears, also known as cactus pears or tunas, are the colorful fruits of the prickly pear cactus. They have a unique sweet-tart flavor and create the most gorgeous ruby-pink color, making them the perfect ingredient for refreshing summer drinks, cocktails, desserts, and more. While their flavor is unforgettable, harvesting and preparing prickly pears is anything but simple. From navigating sharp cactus spines to peeling, juicing, and slowly cooking the fruit into syrup, it’s a time-consuming process that most of us would rather leave to the experts.
Thankfully, Sterling Farms has done all the hard work for us.
Their Texas-made Prickly Pear Syrup captures the fresh, vibrant flavor and brilliant fuchsia color of ripe prickly pears in a ready-to-use syrup that’s as versatile as it is delicious. Whether you’re mixing handcrafted cocktails, creating family-friendly mocktails, sweetening iced tea or lemonade, or adding a splash of Texas flavor to desserts, Sterling Farms Prickly Pear Syrup makes it effortless to enjoy this unique ingredient year-round.
One of my favorite ways to showcase this incredible syrup is with my signature Cactus Kiss Mocktail and Cactus Kiss Cocktail. These refreshing drinks begin with the same bright, citrusy base featuring Sterling Farms Prickly Pear Syrup. The mocktail is perfect for kids, designated drivers, and anyone looking for a refreshing alcohol-free beverage, while the cocktail version gets an extra kick from tequila for a fun happy-hour drink. By making one simple base recipe, you can easily serve both versions at your next barbecue, pool party, holiday celebration, or summer gathering.
If you’re looking for a colorful drink that’s as beautiful as it is refreshing, these Cactus Kiss beverages are guaranteed to become a new summertime favorite. Thanks to Sterling Farms Prickly Pear Syrup, you can enjoy authentic Texas flavor with almost no prep time: just pour, stir, and sip!
Ingredients
1 cup Sterling Farms Prickly Pear Syrup
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (do not use bottled lemon juice for this recipe)
2 Tbsp. honey
1-1/2 Tbsp. sugar or Stevia
1-1/2 Cups tequila (for cocktail only)
3 cups cold plain seltzer per pitcher
Instructions for the Cactus Kiss Cooler Mocktail
In a pitcher, combine the Prickly Pear Syrup, Orange juice, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, lime juice, honey, and sugar or Stevia.
Stir.
Add the cold seltzer and stir.
Garnish with fresh mint leaves.
Instructions for the Cactus Kiss Cocktail
In a pitcher, combine the Prickly Pear Syrup, Orange juice, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, lime juice, honey, tequila and sugar or Stevia. Stir.
Add the cold seltzer and stir. Garnish with fresh mint leaves.
If you like this recipe, you may also like the following recipes:
Cactus Kiss Cooler Mocktail and Cactus Kiss Cocktail
Equipment
- 1 measuring cup
- Measuring spoon
- 1 Large spoon
- 1 pitcher
Ingredients
- 1 cup Sterling Farms Prickly Pear Syrup
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice do not use bottled lemon juice for this recipe
- 2 Tbsp. honey
- 1-1/2 Tbsp. sugar or Stevia
- 1-1/2 Cups tequila for cocktail only
- 3 cups cold plain seltzer per pitcher
Instructions
- In a pitcher, combine the Prickly Pear Syrup, Orange juice, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, lime juice, honey, and sugar or Stevia. Stir.
- If making the Cactus Kiss Cocktail, add the tequila.
- Add the cold seltzer and stir.
- Garnish with fresh mint leaves.
