I rarely go right back to a topic that I have blogged, but something this week just kept gnawing at me. The pomegranate martini I posted was good, but I kept sensing something was lacking. Sweetness, of course. I tried the recipe again, with sugar syrup but I still wasn’t happy.
As I had noted, the martini recipe called for pomegranate juice. The contrast between real juice and the natural alternative, grenadine syrup, is stark. Commercial grenadine syrup is mostly NOT pomegranate and quite honestly tastes awful. If something is a syrup, it should be good and sweet.
So, I went to web and looked up recipes for homemade grenadine syrup. One of those recipes matched the recipe for pomegranate syrup that comes on those bottles of POM you find refrigerated at your supermarket.
I made my pomegranate syrup, which is delightfully different than standard grenadine. This syrup, created by simply boiling down pomegranate juice and sugar, has a surprisingly complex flavor, with fruity and smoky overtones. Yes, it deserves a wine description. It’s sweet enough to make this martini now work, but not so sweet that your mouth rebels.
The POM brand of pomegranate syrups includes pure pomegranate plus varieties with other fruits like cherries and mangoes. These are options that I plan to explore. For this recipe, I used pure pomegranate juice. You could also vary the sugar type, substituting dark brown for white to achieve a shifted flavor.
Here’s the easy recipe for the syrup with a new, and better, version for a Pomegranate Martini. The addition of club soda is Suzen’s idea. Straight up, this martini is quite, quite strong. The club soda mutes the impact without destroying its distinctive flavor. This is a serious drink for the coming summer nights.
Homemade Grenadine Syrup
Ingredients:
2 cups pomegranate juice
1 cup sugar
Preparation:
Place the juice and sugar in 2-quart sauce pan and stir to combine. Place over medium-high heat and bring to boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and allow to reduce by half, stirring occasionally. If you desire thicker syrup, just continue the reduction process.
Allow to cool. Bottle and refrigerate for up to two months.
Brian’s Pomegranate Martini
Ingredients
2 ounces Grey Goose vodka
1 ounce triple sec [or other orange liquor]
2 tablespoons homemade grenadine syrup
Juice of one lime
Club soda to taste
Preparation
Pour the vodka, triple sec, pomegranate juice, and lime juice in a shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake 10 to 12 times sand strain into a chilled martini glass.
Add 1-2 ounces of club soda to taste.
Source: The Barcelona Cookbook by Sasa Mahr-Batuz and Andy Pforzheimer