Cocktail Basics: DIY Grenadine Syrup
Straight Up Cocktails

Sugar + Water + Pomegranate Juice + Heat

The formula for this home bar staple is simple. A deep garnet-colored syrup with the distinctive tart/sweet flavor of pomegranate, grenadine is really just a slightly fancier cousin of simple syrup that has earned a name all its own.

Used in cocktails for its attractive color as much as its fruity flavor, grenadine lends a vivid blush to classics such as the Monkey Gland and the Hurricane, as well as that non-alcoholic favorite, the Shirley Temple, but is probably most famous for its role in the dramatic garnet/orange/yellow layers of the Tequila Sunrise.

While ready-made bottled versions of grenadine are available at most grocery stores, there are also a couple of quick and simple DIY options.The fastest, freshest of these is the no-cook method. If you already have a batch of simple syrup on hand, this one can be mixed up in seconds flat:

DIY Grenadine Syrup #1: Uncooked Method (adapted from Gary Regan, The Joy of Mixology)
makes 4 ounces

3 ounces pomegranate juice (fresh is preferable (Gary Regan suggests using a levered citrus juicer for this), but an unsweetened commercial brand such as Pom may also be used)
1 ounce simple syrup

Mix ingredients together and store refrigerated in a tightly-lidded jar.
Upside: Quick, easy, and because the juice never gets heated in this recipe, the full, crisp flavor of the pomegranate is preserved.
Downside: With no heat used, this recipe never really achieves the viscosity of a true syrup. The resulting product is much more watery and juicelike - although this isn't really an issue in most cocktail recipes.

DIY Grenadine Syrup #2: Cooked Method (adapted from Food & Wine’s Cocktails 2008)
makes 8 ounces

1 cup unsweetened pomegranate juice (see Recipe #1 above)
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Simmer juice and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until syrup is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (approximately 15 minutes). Store refrigerated for up to two weeks.
Upside: Syrup achieves full "syrupiness" and so can be used poured over ice cream and other desserts as well a cocktails.
Downside: More labor-intensive. Some of the fresh tang of the fruit is lost.

Have you ever used fresh pomegranate or grenadine syrup in a cocktail?

Related: DIY Simple Syrup

(Images: Nora Maynard)

-Nora

Comments (2)

What about using Pomegranate Molases and cutting it with Simple Syrup and/or water to get the right viscosity and sweetness?

Make a hybrid: make simple syrup, reduce it a little thicker than the recipe (#2) calls for, let cool, add pom juice. That way you gain viscosity, but keep the fresh fruit flavor. And labor intensive? How hard is it to cook sugar and water?

The pom molasses would have that cooked flavor that they're trying to avoid.