Cocktails are medicinal. Stop guffawing—I mean it: Mixers used in classic cocktails—vermouths, fortified wines, bitters and fruit infusions—are almost exactly the same curatives made by apothecaries in medieval times.
Until very recently, a huge variety of these traditional spirits were made and sold in Europe.
Europe’s traditional apéritifs and digestifs
Well into the 90s, it seemed every French or Italian village produced its own signature aperatif, digestivo or amaro. Made from secret family recipes, these alcoholic, alchemical infusions included roots, herbs, peels, vegetables and fruits.
Today only a handful of botanically-based liquors remain. Cinzano—an aperitif of “aromatic plants from the Italian Alps”—for example, and Cynar, made from artichokes.
Unfortunately, few true fruit syrups—the simple but intense infusions that give distinctive flavor to many classic cocktails—still exist.
No fruit in today’s fruit syrups
Take grenadine. Likely you only use this neon-red syrup for sweetening and coloring Shirley Temples. With good reason: commercial grenadine is little more than corn syrup, water and red dye.
This vapid sweetener bears little resemblance to real grenadine, traditionally made with pomegranates. Once produced by small, regional makers, today pomegranate-based grenadine has gone the way of copper stills and candle-lit bistros.
To enjoy grenadine’s sweet, tangy, fruity flavor—and the taste sensation it gives your classic cocktails—you have to make your own Homemade Grenadine.
And lucky for you, it’s a cinch. You just simmer down pomegranate juice till it reduces to a wine-dark plasma.
Time was, you’d have to spend hours peeling, smashing and straining pomegranates to extract a cup or two of juice. My grandmother did this to produce her famous pomegranate jelly, made from fruit that grew on a pomegranate tree near the arbor in her yard.
My brother, sister and I under the arbor at our grandmother's San Joaquin Valley home, 1970s
You can make grenadine from bottled pomegranate juice available at Trader Joe’s or your local supermarket.
For a completely kitted-out cocktail trolly, you’ll want to make both Homemade Grenadine and Pomegranate Molasses, see directions below. Homemade Grenadine’s fruity flavor notes and tannic tartness add nuanced flavor to Singapore Slings and Pink Ladies. Stirred into a glass of chilled champagne along with a splash of vodka, Homemade Grenadine makes a revelatory Kir Royale, see recipe below. And Pomegranate Molasses is the secret ingredient in Persian Pomtinis, recipe below.
Pomegranate Molasses is also wonderful…
- Poured over pancakes or waffles
- Drizzled on ice cream or pudding
- Stirred into Middle Eastern dishes such as Ashe-e Anar and Muhammara.
Now you can take your medicine and forget the spoonful of sugar.
Homemade Grenadine
4 cups 100% pomegranate juice
Into a heavy saucepan, pour the pomegranate juice. Bring to a boil, lower flame and simmer juice until it reduces by half. Let Grenadine cool. Pour into jars or bottles. Cover with tight lids and store in refrigerator.
Makes 2 cups Homemade Grenadine
Homemade Pomegranate Molasses
4 cups 100% pomegranate juice
Into a heavy saucepan, pour the pomegranate juice. Bring to a boil, lower flame and simmer juice until it reduces by three-quarters. Let Molasses cool. Pour into jars or bottles. Cover with tight lids and store in refrigerator.
Makes 2 cups Homemade Pomegranate Molasses
Persian Pomtini
For each drink you will need:
2 ounces vodka
1 ounce 100% pomegranate juice
1-2 teaspoons Homemade Grenadine (recipe above)
Juice of half a lemon
Handful of cracked ice
Fresh pomegranate seeds or slice of lemon
Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker, cover and shake vigorously. Pour into a martini glass and garnish with pomegranate seeds or lemon slice.
Pomegranate Kir Royale
For each drink you will need:
1 teaspoon Pomegranate Molasses
1 teaspoon vodka
4 ounces Champagne, Prosecco or other dry sparkling white wine
Twist of lemon
In a champagne flute, mix the Pomegranate Molasses and vodka. Tip the flute slightly and pour in the Champagne, letting it run down the side of the glass to fill—this keeps the bubbly from becoming too effervescent and overflowing the flute. Stir gently and garnish with lemon twist.
Apothecary image courtesy of D.C.Atty
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Lorraine, this recipe looks lovely! It’s so funny because Josh and I were just talking about creating our own grenadine using this same method—but we plan to make a scotch drink with it. We’re also hoping to burn the syrup a bit to introduce something a bit toasty. Will keep you posted on how it works out.
Your drink recipe looks positively refreshing. Cheers to you!