Without fail, every time I go to the liquor store, I stop by the liqueur shelf and shake up all of the shimmery varieties. Watching the sparkles swirl around the bottles is so mesmerizing. But I can't ever bring myself to actually buy a bottle because, let's be honest, I'm on a budget.

So one day, after I left the store with my $5 wine, I started wondering if there was a way to make my own sparkly liqueur. Turns out, there totally is and it's way less expensive than store-bought (and just as pretty).

These sparkly spirits are a great way to add a touch of glitz to any cocktail that lists liqueur as an ingredient. Melon Ball? More like Glitter Ball. Margarita? More like Magic-rita. You can also use them to create your own, glitter-infused cocktail concoctions like I did. I can't wait to serve galaxy-inspired cocktails for my solar eclipse party this year!

Here's how to make your own shimmery liqueurs:

Match Up Your Colors

To keep your sparkly liqueur colorful long-term, it's important to use edible pearl dust that corresponds to the color of your liqueur. If you use silver dust, the silver color infuses into the liqueur and turns it a mottled, gray hue. You can find edible pearl dust in a variety of colors in the baking section of your local craft store.

Here are the pairings we used:

Pink shimmer: 12 oz passion fruit liqueur + 3/4 tsp pink pearl dust

Orange shimmer: 12 oz peach liqueur + 1/4 tsp yellow dust + 1/2 tsp copper dust

Yellow shimmer: 12 oz banana liqueur + 3/4 tsp yellow pearl dust

Green shimmer: 12 oz melon liqueur + 3/4 tsp green pearl dust

Blue shimmer: 12 oz blue curacao + 1/2 tsp purple dust + 1/4 tsp blue dust

Purple shimmer: 12 oz sloe gin + 3/4 tsp purple pearl dust

Mix It Up

Pour your favorite flavored liqueur into a clear glass bottle, add pearl dust and stir. It's important to use room temperature liqueur to ensure the dust mixes easily and completely. Add a lid and store your new shimmery spirit at room temperature until ready to serve. Before serving, simply give it a shake to re-mix the dust and liquid.

How to Serve

The traditional way to serve shimmery liqueur:

Fill a shaker with ice. Pour shimmery liqueur over ice and shake for about 15 seconds. Fill a martini glass 3/4 full, then top with sparkling wine or Moscato.

Or make a cocktail:

The Starboy

1/2 cup margarita mix

1/2 cup blue curacao shimmer

1.5 oz silver tequila

agave syrup

gold sugar or sprinkles

edible gold stars

Add margarita mix, blue shimmer and tequila to an ice-filled shaker. Let sit for one minute. In the meantime, cover the bottom of a small plate with agave syrup, then cover the bottom of another plate with gold sugar. Rim a margarita glass with syrup, then dip in sugar. 

Shake liquid ingredients for about 10 seconds then pour into your gold-rimmed glass. Garnish with a sprinkle of edible gold stars and enjoy your out-of-this-world cocktail!