The Prickly Pear Cocktail

A simple yet visually stunning pink cocktail that lets its core ingredients shine. It focuses heavily on the pairing of mezcal with fresh prickly pear cactus fruit and bright lime.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. nopales-infused mezcal

• ¾ oz. fresh prickly pear juice

• ¾ oz. fresh lime juice

• ½ oz. agave nectar

• ½ oz. gentian amaro

• 3-4 dashes of habanero tincture

Instructions:

• Add all the ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into glass over fresh ice and garnish.

• Nopales-infused mezcal: Clean and shave off the spines of the nopales paddles but keep the skin on. Cut the nopales and place in jar with mezcal and allow to infuse for at least 1 week, using about 6 to 8 nopales per liter of mezcal. Strain prior to using.

• Prickly pear juice: If buying prickly pear fruit from the store, the small spines may already be removed. If not, or if picking the fruit yourself, be sure to handle them with gloves and either burn the spines off over a gas burner using tongs, or blanch the fruit in boiling water to dissolve them. Juice the fruit in a juicer, or slice it open and scoop out the inner flesh, adding to a blender or food processor to purée, then strain through a seive.

• Habanero tincture: Combine 10 diced habanero peppers with 500 mL over-proof vodka and soak until desired spice level is achieved. Strain and bottle for use.

Attribution:
Recipe: Jacob Racusin, The Snug, San Francisco
Origin: Imbibe