DESERT PEAR
Four ingredients. A margarita with prickly pear syrup, built by The Italian Mixologist.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 oz Los Magos Sotol
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- .5 oz agave syrup
- 1 oz prickly pear syrup
Prickly pear grows on the same land as the sotol plant, which is most of the reason this drink exists. It's a margarita with Opuntia cactus syrup doing the sweetening, developed with SGWS Certified Mixology Spirits Expert The Italian Mixologist.
Four ingredients and it comes out an alarming shade of pink.
What you need
- 2 oz Los Magos Sotol Blanco
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- .5 oz agave syrup
- 1 oz prickly pear syrup
- Basil and lime, to garnish
How to make it
- Add every ingredient to a shaker with ice.
- Shake for 12 seconds.
- Strain into a glass over fresh ice.
- Garnish with basil and lime.
Why sotol works here
Prickly pear is sweeter than it looks and it carries almost no acid of its own. Combine it with agave syrup and a sweet base spirit and the drink turns into candy fast.
Sotol is the dry element that keeps it upright. Our Blanco brings citrus and pepper with no residual sugar, so the lime has something to work against and the cactus flavor stays recognizable. The basil garnish is doing real work too, and it picks up the herbaceous side of the spirit.
Two plants from the same desert, in one glass. That part is a coincidence worth leaning into.
Questions we get
Where do I find prickly pear syrup?
Most Latin grocers carry it, and it's easy online. You can also simmer frozen prickly pear puree with equal sugar for ten minutes.
Can I cut the sweetness further?
Drop the agave to .25 oz. The prickly pear carries enough on its own for most people.
Make it with the bottle it was built for.
Los Magos Sotol Blanco, 750ml. Wild-harvested and triple distilled, with no additives.
