Prickly Pear Lemonade and Queen B: 2 Cocktails Inspired by Beyoncé

Our Prickly Pear Lemonade and Queen B cocktails might lessen the sting of Queen Bey’s Pittsburgh Renaissance Tour stop cancellation. About a month before Beyoncé was set to hit Acrisure Stadium, a statement from stadium officials was released citing “production logistics and scheduling issues” that would prohibit the artist from visiting Pittsburgh. While we may have lost the big venue opportunity to groove with the Queen, that’s not stopping us from paying homage to the R&B pop icon with not one, but two cocktails. In the words of Beyoncé herself, “We gettin’ f…. up tonight!”

These are the ninth and tenth cocktails in our 2023 Summer Concert Cocktail Series. And the first two cocktails in our unofficial TABLE Magazine Canceled Concert Crybaby Fest. That’s TMCCCF, for future reference.

Prickly Pear Lemonade Cocktail Recipe

INGREDIENTS

6 oz Fresh Prickly Pear Lemonade (recipe below)
1 ½ oz Tito’s Vodka
Lemon soda water
Melon balls, blueberries, and mint for garnish    

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add ice to a cocktail shaker, and pour in prickly pear lemonade and Tito’s.
2. Shake until chilled.
3. Strain and pour over ice into a highball glass.
4. Top with lemon soda water.
5. Garnish with melon balls and blueberries on a pick, and add a fresh sprig of mint.

Fresh Prickly Pear Lemonade Recipe

INGREDIENTS

3-4 medium to large lemons – 2/3 cup fresh squeezed juice
2-3 limes – 1/3 cup fresh squeezed juice
6 tbsp prickly pear simple syrup (recipe below)
¼ cup agave nectar
2 ¼ cups water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Squeeze and strain fresh lemons to yield 2/3 cup juice.
2. Squeeze and strain fresh limes to yield 1/3 cup juice.
3. Stir the lemon and lime juices, prickly pear simple syrup, agave nectar, and water together into a container.
4. Store in the refrigerator.

Prickly Pear Simple Syrup Recipe

INGREDIENTS

1 cup prickly pear fruit pulp
1 ½ cups water
1 cup sugar
5 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Hold the thornless prickly pears with tongs and cut them in half.
2. Using a spoon, scoop out the fruit pulp.
3. Add the fruit pulp to a medium saucepan with the water and sugar.
4. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a medium-low and simmer for about 25-30 minutes.
5. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let it come to room temperature.
6. Add the syrup mixture into a blender and blend until smooth.
7. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a container and stir in the lime juice to combine.
8. Store in the refrigerator.

Queen Bee Cocktail, Inspired by Beyonce

INGREDIENTS

1 oz Hennessy VSOP Cognac
1 oz Bacardi White Rum
1 oz Cointreau
1 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
Crushed ice
Honeycomb, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add a cup of crushed ice to a cocktail shaker.
2. Add the cognac, rum, Cointreau, and lemon juice.
3. Shake vigorously until the outside of the cocktail shaker creates ice crystals.
4. Pour through a strainer into a coupe glass.
5. Add the fresh-cut honeycomb to the edge of the glass for garnish.

Recipe by Sarah Cascone / Styling by Anna Calabrese / Photography by Dave Bryce / Story by Star Laliberte

Try these other cocktails in our Summer Concert Series:
So What Cocktail, Inspired by Pink
Baker’s Dozen Cocktail, Inspired by Phish
Man, I Feel Like a Women Cocktail, inspired by Shania Twain
Sunflower Cocktail, inspired by Post Malone
Typical Average Cocktail, inspired by Ed Sheeran
Crush Cocktail, inspired by Dave Matthews Band
Summer’s In Your Blood Cocktail, inspired by Boygenius
Lover Cocktail, inspired by Taylor Swift

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