“The name “grenadine” comes from the French word grenade which means pomegranate.” -via Wikipedia¹

One thing I hate to stock in my bar is grenadine. I used to buy a bottle because I’d have a bug up my ass about some drink that needs it. What ends up happening, though, is that I buy a bottle, use a splash here and there over a year and wonder why this crap is taking up space in my liquor cabinet. Like JT said the other day, throw it out.

Grenadine does have it’s place though. It makes a good looking Tequila Sunrise and the good stuff is a nice variety as a sweetener.

Don’t buy that corn syrupy crap, make your own. Since finding one of my favorite cocktail blogs on the web, The Cocktail Chronicles, I haven’t purchased any grenadine and I’m a better man for it. For example, I now put the toilet paper in the dispenser the right way.

Grenadine

Cold-process

1 to 1 ratio of pomegranate juice to fine sugar.

Shake it until the sugar dissolves completely. You may want to add another two or three tablespoons of sugar to taste.

Hot-process

2 parts pomegranate juice
1 part sugar

Place pomegranate juice in a sauce pan and bring to a boil then reduce to medium. Let simmer until reduced by half. Stir in sugar and let cool.

Now, let’s say you received a gift basket of fresh pomegranates from some immigrants in the neighborhood².

Old-world-process

2 - 3 lbs of pomegranates
1 pint of water
Sugar

Tediously take the seeds from the fruit and place in a saucepan with the pint of water and simmer. Stir until the juice is released from the sacs³. This takes about five minutes or so. Then strain the whole mess into a bowl while pressing the juice from the seeds. You could use a mesh strainer, your mom’s pantyhose or whatever.

Now measure the juice and add an equal amount of sugar, boil then reduce to simmer for 10-15 minutes. Let cool.

To be honest, that sounds like a pain in the ass but hey, immigrants, right?

The cold process grenadine tastes bright and fruity while the hot process is dark and rich like Jay Z. I haven’t tried the Old World method because I’m a very important person.

I’ll make just enough grenadine for a night or weekend using POM or some other brand of natural pomegranate juice. Juice from concentrate is fine, it’s just a fucking splash. Besides, it’s different enough from the food colored crap to be noticeable and delicious. If the success of your drink relies on the quality of your pomegranate juice, I guess you’re just better than the rest of us. Enjoy it and the company of your handlebar mustache, Trevor.

Posted at 2:36pm and tagged with: Albert, recipe,.