The Dragon Recipe

Make purée

Place the peeled and chopped dragon fruit in a blender or food processor. Pulse until smooth, scraping down sides as needed. If the purée seems very thick, add up to 1 tablespoon of water and blend again to reach a pourable consistency (about 2–3 tablespoons of purée yielded).

Strain (optional)

For a smoother cocktail with less pulp and seeds, press the purée through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl using the back of a spoon. Discard solids. You should end up with approximately 2–3 tablespoons of strained purée; if you keep pulp, use slightly more volume in the cocktail to maintain flavor.

Prepare glass

If desired, rub the rim of a rocks or coupe glass with a lime wedge and dip into coarse salt or tajín to rim. Fill the glass with fresh ice (if serving on the rocks) or chill the glass if serving up.

Combine ingredients

In a cocktail shaker, add 2 oz blanco tequila, 1 oz orange liqueur, 0.5 oz fresh lemon juice, 0.5 oz fresh lime juice, 0.5 oz simple syrup, and 2–3 tablespoons (about 0.5–0.75 oz) of the dragon fruit purée (or strained purée).

Shake

Fill the shaker with ice (about 1 cup) and shake vigorously for 12–15 seconds until well-chilled and slightly frothy from the fruit purée.

Strain & serve

Double-strain the cocktail into the prepared glass (over fresh ice if serving on the rocks, or neat if serving up) using a hawthorne and fine strainer to remove ice shards and any remaining pulp.

Garnish the cocktail with a lime wheel or wedge on the rim and a small wedge or thin slice of dragon fruit perched on the glass. Optionally express a lime peel over the drink for aroma before dropping it in.

Serve immediately. Adjust sweetness by increasing or decreasing the simple syrup by 0.25 oz increments. For a spicier rim, use tajín instead of salt. If you prefer a frozen version, blend the ingredients with 1 cup of crushed ice until smooth.