We have all heard of grenadine, or at least seen the bright red sugar syrup in the plastic bottle in the grocery store. This, my friends, is not the wonderful classic syrup that you see used countless times in classic cocktail recipes.
Grenadine comes from the French word for pomegranate, Grenade. It should be syrup made from fresh or bottled 100 percent Pomegranate juice. You are not going to find this in your everyday corner bar, usually it is too time consuming or costly to be included in their cocktail program. The traditional syrup adds both depth and sweetness to a cocktail.
But if you find a bar that makes it “in-house” then you should definitely order up any cocktail that includes it in the recipe, such as the Bacardi cocktail, the Ward 8, or even the not so classic “Dirty” Shirley.
If you are a closet “mixologist,” you do not have to head out of your house to find this great mixer. All you need is to bring three cups of 100 percent Pomegranate juice to a boil in a medium sauce pan, then add 1.5 cups of sugar or honey, 1.5 ounces of fresh squeezed lemon juice and two strips of orange peel, then stir till dissolved. Then immediately reduce the heat to medium low and cook until reduced by half. Strain, through a fine mesh strainer and let cool prior to using or storing.
This will add a level of vibrancy to your cocktails or even baked goods, which you are not going to get from the store bought high fructose corn syrup variety. Once you have a taste for real Grenadine, I guarantee that you will not look back.
If you feel that this is too much work, then head down to Roman Holiday Wine Lounge to take advantage of our list of classic cocktails that use homemade Grenadine and other fresh juices and imported mixers.
Roman Holiday Wine Lounge is located at the Shops at the Patios (next to Macy’s), 24201 West Valencia Boulevard, Suite 3860 in Santa Clarita. For more information, please call 661-799-7221, email: chris@rhwinelounge.com and visit our website at www.rhwinelounge.com.