Arizona Sunset Mocktail Party Punch

Mocktail drink recipes like this beautiful Arizona Sunset Mocktail party punch (with real prickly pear syrup!) are a great way to impress your party guests.  This easy party punch recipe reminds me of the colors found in an AZ sunset.

So my friends know that I am a huge fan of easy party punch recipes.  In fact, I have shared quite a few here at Liz on Call.  But if you come to my house for a social gathering, I usually have a yummy punch recipe ready to serve.  They are so easy to make and can add some fun and uniqueness to any party.

So I’m an AZ girl.  I’ve never lived anywhere else.  And although we have some insane temps in the summer, the winters are what dreams are made of.  Not white Christmas dreams, but for those that dream of cool, crisp winters without snow, we’ve got you covered. 🙂  And the sunsets here are just the most beautiful.  I know I might get a some arguments on this, but, really, you have to see them in person.  Maybe it’s all the dust. 😉

Recently I took a watercolor painting class and we painted Arizona sunsets.  I picked from a bunch of different printed pictures to base my painting after.  Once I started looking at all the colors in the sunset, it was truly amazing how one sky could hold all those colors.  I absolutely love how my painting turned out.

Those yellows, pinks and corals give me all the feels.  I love all the blues, pinks and purples too, but I especially love the warm colors.  It totally warranted a party punch recipe.  I have heard of such a thing as a sunset cocktail. Or is it sunrise? Anyway, I decided to make an Arizona Sunset Mocktail drink, not just to represent the sunset, but using a super fun ingredient found in AZ, the prickly pear. The actual fruit from the prickly pear cactus!

Arizona Sunset Mocktail Drink Recipe

Yield: 3/4 gallon

Arizona Sunset Mocktail Party Punch

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Impress your guests with this beautiful Arizona Sunset Mocktail party punch with real prickly pear syrup.

Ingredients

• 1/2 gallon orange juice
• 1 lime - juiced
• 24 oz Prickly Pear Orange sparkling water
• 1/3 -1/2 cup prickly pear syrup - (to make: 2 prickly pears, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/8 cup water)
• Ice
• limes and oranges for garnish

Instructions

Prickly Pear Syrup

1. Peel the 2 prickly pears and cut into chunks. Put the prickly pear fruit into a blender with about 1 tablespoon of water. Blend until smooth. Pour puree though a fine sieve to remove seeds and any big chunks. Add strained puree to small pot. Add water and sugar and mix together. Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer for 20 minutes. Pour through strainer again and let cool.

Mocktail

1. Add orange juice and fresh lime juice together. At this point you can make individual drinks (like the ones shown) or add the rest of the ingredients to a large drink dispenser to serve.
2. For individual drinks, add ice to a glass. Fill 2/3 with orange/lime juice mixture. Add a couple teaspoons of syrup to glass and top with sparkling water.

 I found all the ingredients (including the prickly pear) to make this easy mocktail drink at my local Fry’s (Kroger) grocery store.  But if you can’t find them locally, you can find the prickly pear orange sparkling water on Amazon.  You can even find prickly pear syrup on Amazon too.

I love mixing drinks like this individually as opposed to making one big pitcher, but you could definitely make this non-alcoholic party punch in one big drink dispenser.  The prickly pear gives it a tart strawberry citrusy flavor.  It’s super refreshing and perfect for sipping with your friends as you watch the sun go down.

I made this for some girlfriends at a recent retreat, and they enjoyed the mocktail version, but some agreed that a bit of Malibu or coconut rum would be perfect in this drink to make it a cocktail.

If you’ve got a special occasion coming up and are in need of a punch recipe, make sure and check out all these easy party punch recipes.  I’m sure you’ll find just what you need.

Happy Mixing!

Liz