We admit it. Seeding and juicing pomegranates isn’t the most glamorous of kitchen tasks. (Although we were excited to discover the quick Whack-a-Mole method.) So in the service of great cocktails, Brother Dave has been searching for a good grenadine recipe that uses pomegranate juice instead of the fresh pomegranate version posted previously, and comes up with this super simple syrup from the book Boozehound: On the Trail of the Rare, the Obscure, and the Overrated in Spirits.
Grenadine3 cups Pom pomegranate juice1 1/2 cups sugar1 1/2 ounces lemon juicezest of 1 orangeSimmer for 45 minutes or so to reduce by about half.
That’s it, although Dave adds a little vodka as an additional preservative, since it can take a while to go through a batch. So really, no need to buy that food coloring-enhanced, preservative-laden grenadine sold in most stores. And hey, think of all the health properties attributed to drinking Pom!
The same basic recipe might serve nicely for a syrup using blood oranges, an of-the-moment cocktail ingredient. Meanwhile, time to have another round of that classic cocktail with grenadine, the Scofflaw.
The Scofflaw*
1 1/2 ounces rye
1 ounce dry vermouth
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
3/4 ounce real pomegranate grenadine
Shake in an iced cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
*Scofflaw: a frequenter of speakeasies and general flouter of the National Prohibition Act, a term coined in 1924.
Three Points Kitchen 