Prickly Pear Bourbon Smash
I was lucky enough to stumble upon some prickly pear at my local grocery store, and I was sooo excited to use it in a cocktail! It has a distinct flavor of a cross between a watermelon and bubble gum — it’s sweet and delicious!
The beautiful thing about making a smash-style cocktail is that you can be really experimental with the fruit, herbs, and base spirit you choose to use. The addition of Amaro Montenegro really paired well with the sweet notes of the prickly pear, but this would also be really lovely with gin, or even tequila. ;)
Ingredients:
a small chunk of prepared prickly pear
½ oz simple syrup
¾ oz lemon juice
6-8 basil leaves
1½ oz bourbon
¾ oz amaro montenegro
sparkling water
garnish: basil sprig
Directions:
Combine prickly pear, syrup, lemon juice, and basil leaves into a cocktail shaker and muddle. Add bourbon and amaro. Add ice and shake vigorously for approximately thirty seconds, until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice and top with sparkling water. Garnish with a basil sprig.