I am an adopted desert rat.
After moving to Phoenix, I started a boutique collection of artwork from the twice-annual Tempe Festival of the Arts depicting Sonoran Desert scenes, like an Arizona reinterpretation of Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.” I dug deeper into the discography of local music heroes The Format and even attended their Zia Records in-store appearance in January.
But I was slower to adopt a taste for Arizona beverages made with a uniquely desert flavor — prickly pear.
Prickly pear cactus is the common name of a family of cactus plants called Opuntia, a cultural symbol in Mexico and an important part of its culinary and medicinal history for thousands of years. Most people are familiar with Mexico’s flag of green, white and red stripes, but only those who see the flag up close may notice that the eagle eating the snake at the center of the white stripe is perched atop a prickly pear cactus.
Prickly pears, named for their resemblance to pears and the hair-like thorns along their skin, provide food and shelter for wildlife such as javelinas and jackrabbits, according to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. The red fruit is confusingly called tuna (yes, like the fish) and its syrup is used to flavor soft and alcoholic drinks, most commonly lemonade and margaritas.
Many of the top metro Phoenix resorts offer prickly pear drinks as a form of desert hospitality.
You can get prickly pear tea at check-in at the five-star Canyon Suites at The Phoenician. It’s a rotating welcome drink at the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North and at one of Travel + Leisure readers’ favorite Arizona hotels, The Hermosa Inn. Prickly pear lemonade is on the menu at some hotel restaurants as well, like at The Compass, the famous revolving rooftop restaurant at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix, which turned 50 this year.
And it was at these hotels, in the course of reporting other travel stories, that I came to know and appreciate the uniquely Arizonan refreshment.
How my prickly pear journey began
First, a confession.
I was not a lemonade drinker growing up. (Too hooked on Coke to sip anything else in the fridge.) I’m a recent convert, helped in part by the Arnold Palmers at Original ChopShop.
At first, prickly pear wasn’t a flavor I was willing to go out of my way for. I first tried prickly pear in soft serve ice cream at Topo, the roadside stand in Gilbert famous for the giant gopher head. I liked the ice cream, but the prickly pear flavor felt a little overpowering to me.
This journey began, as many stories in journalism do, when I noticed a trend.
It started when I went to the Hyatt Regency Phoenix’s 50th anniversary reception at the famous revolving rooftop restaurant, The Compass. While the restaurant’s culinary staff served selections from its menu from its early days, I kept going back for the prickly pear lemonade.
Not long after attending that reception, I visited the Canyon Suites at The Phoenician to see the resort’s new villas. While interviewing the resort’s director, Q Martin, I sampled the prickly pear iced tea in the reception area.
I wondered if this was a traditional way of welcoming people to the Valley. So I started checking in with other hotels.
What metro Phoenix hotels have prickly pear drinks?
My research on Phoenix hotels and resorts that serve prickly pear drinks led me to identify a few highlights:
Arizona Biltmore: The historic Phoenix resort serves cocktails that include prickly pear at its restaurant McArthur’s and poolside Spire Bar. McArthur’s serves a cocktail called Cactus Flowers ($22) that’s also made with Mission Vodka, kumquats, hibiscus, pineapples and lemon, while the Spire Bar’s Sonoran Siren ($23) blends prickly pear with mezcal and passion fruit. McArthur’s also has a prickly pear mocktail called the Cottage Cooler ($17), made with Seedlip spice, hibiscus and Fever-Tree sparkling pink grapefruit.
Four Seasons Scottsdale Resort at Troon North: Prickly pear lemonade is served as a rotating welcome drink in the lobby for guests staying at the resort. On-site restaurant Proof, An American Canteen serves prickly pear lemonade on its non-alcoholic drink menu ($8) and a jalapeno-infused prickly pear margarita on its cocktail menu ($20).
Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Bungalows: A prickly pear welcome drink is served upon arrival, which can be alcoholic or non-alcoholic depending on the guest’s preference. The resort’s Weft & Warp Bar + Kitchen serves prickly pear lemonade ($8) and prickly pear margaritas ($16).
The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa: Poolside bar J. Swilling’s serves a cocktail called Prickly Pear Perfection ($21) that includes Mi Campo reposado, agave, prickly pear syrup and lime, as well as a prickly pear lemonade ($15). The mountain view bar Antidote has a mocktail with prickly pear called This Drink Shall Not Be Named ($15), which is made from a non-alcoholic vermouth, prickly pear syrup, lemon juice and Fever-Tree soda water.
JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa: A few on-site restaurants at the massive JW Marriott Desert Ridge resort have prickly pear drinks. Meritage, Twenty6 and the poolside bar at the AquaRidge Waterpark serve prickly pear margaritas, ranging from $19 to $29. Prickly pear-flavored versions of a Moscow mule are available at Twenty6 (the Desert Mule, $19) and the pool bar (the Cactus Mule, $20.50 for a 12-ounce glass, $27 for a 24-ounce glass). Prickly pear mocktails include the Tall and Bubbly at Tía Carmen and the Shirley Prickle at Twenty6 (both $12).
The Wigwam: The Litchfield Park resort serves prickly pear margaritas and mimosas (both $12) at its on-site restaurant Red Allen’s Bar & Grill. The Wigwam Bar also serves prickly pear margaritas (which can be made with or without alcohol) and its menu includes prickly pear lemonade ($7).
The Hermosa Inn: The historic Paradise Valley escape serves prickly pear lemonade ($14) on the summer menu at its Lon’s Last Drop bar and restaurant. Prickly pear lemonade returned to the menu on May 12.
But not all prickly pear drinks are created equal.
Why the syrup makes a difference
To extract the flavor of the prickly pear fruit, comparable to watermelon or strawberries, it needs to be reduced into a prickly pear syrup. To make prickly pear syrup, the juice from the fruit is extracted and strained to remove the fruit’s hard seeds. The juice is then blended with sugar and water and boiled. Some recipes also add lemon juice.
Where the syrup comes from can make a big difference when it comes to flavor.
The Hermosa Inn, the Four Seasons and Andaz Scottsdale Resort use prickly pear puree from The Perfect Puree of Napa Valley. The puree gives prickly pear soft drinks and cocktails their “vibrant color and subtly sweet, slightly tart flavor,” according to Ashley Betkouchar, marketing manager at Andaz Scottsdale Resort.
The Wigwam’s prickly pear lemonade and margarita use syrup from Reàl Infused Exotics, which bills its product line as “high-end puree infused flavors.” Its website states that it sources its prickly pear fruit from Mexico. Reàl is a brand of American Beverage Marketers, an Indiana-based company that specializes in cocktail mixes and ingredients.
The Phoenician’s iced tea recipe uses prickly pear syrup from Cheri’s Desert Harvest, a small-batch natural foods company founded by Tucson native Cheri Romanoski that makes syrups, jellies, jams and candies from ingredients indigenous to the Sonoran Desert, with no artificial flavors or preservatives.
Prickly pear isn’t the only ingredient that Cheri’s Desert Harvest uses to make its products, but it’s their most prized crop. They harvest about 70,000 pounds of prickly pear fruit per year, according to its website. Many hotels and restaurants across the U.S. use Cheri’s Desert Harvest syrup for their prickly pear recipes; it claims the Ritz-Carlton and Bobby Flay among its clients.
A sampling of prickly pear drinks at metro Phoenix resorts
I couldn’t possibly taste every prickly pear offering in the Valley, but for the purpose of my reporting, I ended up sampling six drinks: the lemonades at Hyatt Regency Phoenix, Four Seasons Scottsdale, The Hermosa Inn and The Wigwam, the tea at Canyon Suites and the non-alcoholic margarita at The Wigwam.
The drink that started the journey, the lemonade at the Hyatt Regency Downtown, was served as part of the hotel’s 50th anniversary reception, though The Compass revolving rooftop restaurant has incorporated prickly pear on its rotating menu in past seasons. Once, prickly pear-flavored marshmallows were part of a dessert called the Arizona s’mores brownie.
The lemonade, which is only served for special events, seemed to have a hint of strawberry in its flavor, which appealed to my palate well. A little too well, though — I went back for seconds. And thirds.
Hyatt Regency Phoenix staff offers prickly pear lemonade to clients touring Phoenix to showcase the importance of cactus to Arizona, said Joe Alegre, the hotel’s director of sales. He added that The Compass staff is creating a new “boozy, fruity, spiced and sweet” cocktail called the Desert Mirage for the restaurant that will include prickly pear among its ingredients, along with Jamaican rum, Blanco tequila and ancho chile liqueur.
Four Seasons and Lon’s offerings had similar fruity flavors
I also appreciated the real fruit taste of the lemonade at the Four Seasons, owed to their use of puree versus syrup.
It was a hike to get to from Phoenix, so after I arrived to receive the small welcome drink portion of prickly pear lemonade, I decided I needed to make the trip worth it and ordered a large glass of the lemonade at their Proof restaurant. I also took the suggestion of guests who dined there and ordered the pretzel knots. The perfect balance of sweet and tart flavors in the lemonade paired well with the salty knots.
Lon’s at The Hermosa had a similar tasting lemonade to the Four Seasons, in part because they use the same puree. Prickly pear lemonade is a big seller at The Hermosa during the summer months. Demand for the drink was high on the first day of the summer menu at Lon’s, said Victoria Wirth, lead bartender at Lon’s Last Drop.
“I opened Tuesday morning and it was all I was making for the pool,” she said.
The lemonade at Lon’s can be made with alcohol by request, Wirth said. Mocktail drinkers can get a hint of prickly pear depending on what they order: Some drinks are flavored with a non-alcoholic agave spirit from Seedlip, which includes prickly pear among its ingredients.
The Wigwam lemonade is better than the margarita
When I tried the lemonade and non-alcoholic margarita at the Wigwam, it was a hot Saturday and the resort was bustling with guests lounging poolside. The lemonade hit the spot and quenched my thirst on the triple-digit afternoon.
But there was something about the taste of the non-alcoholic spirit used in the margarita that seemed off. It didn’t have the harsh burn of alcohol, but I had a hard time getting past the overpowering peppery notes.
Which resort offers the best prickly pear beverage?
The prickly pear tea at the Canyon Suites proved just as addictive as the lemonade at the Hyatt Regency Downtown, if not more so. Although the resort calls it tea, it’s technically an Arnold Palmer — the recipe includes one and a half cups of lemonade, plus two and a half cups of tea.
Martin asked me whose prickly pear drink I liked better. In the moment, I said I gave the Canyon Suites a slight edge. I liked how it had the right amount of fruity notes and the right amount of sweetness. Discovering that the syrup came from an Arizona business was an added plus.
Maybe it’s the made-in-Arizona bias talking, but I enjoyed Canyon Suites’ prickly pear tea the most out of the drinks I tasted.
But for anyone visiting Arizona who wants a cold and sweet summer drink with a unique local flavor, tasting any prickly pear-flavored drink in the Valley is a rewarding experience.
Where to enjoy a staycation prickly pear drink in Arizona
Want to try the prickly pear drinks I tried? Here’s where you can get them.
The Phoenician / Canyon Suites at The Phoenician: Phoenician iced tea, made with iced tea, lemonade and prickly pear syrup. Available as a welcome drink; tastings offered in the lobby at 11:30 a.m.
Details: 6000 E. Camelback Road, Scottsdale. 480-941-8200, thephoenician.com.
Four Seasons Scottsdale Resort at Troon North: Prickly pear lemonade. Available as a rotating welcome drink in the lobby or at Proof, An American Canteen ($8).
Details: 10600 E. Crescent Moon Drive, Scottsdale. 480-515-5700, fourseasons.com/scottsdale.
The Wigwam: Prickly pear lemonade ($7) and non-alcoholic prickly pear margarita ($12), available at the Wigwam Bar.
Details: 300 E. Wigwam Blvd., Litchfield Park. 866-976-6894, wigwamarizona.com.
The Hermosa Inn: Prickly pear lemonade ($14), available seasonally at Lon’s Last Drop.
Details: 5532 N. Palo Cristi Road, Paradise Valley. 800-241-1210, azhideawaycollection.com/hermosa-inn.
Reporting by Michael Salerno, Arizona Republic
