It’s pomegranate season and with a tree in the backyard producing several of these exotic fruits, we decided to experiment a bit. Sure, the deep red seeds are a wonderful accessory to salads and soups but today we’re bringing them to the cocktail world. Deseeding and juicing a pomegranate sounds intimidating, but we have some easy tips below to get you started.
Happy Thirsty Thursday.
Pomegranate Manhattan
1 ½ ounces Rye Whiskey or Bourbon (you can use brandy if other options aren’t available)
1 ½ ounce fresh pomegranate juice
1 tsp. superfine sugar
2 – 3 dashes of Angostura bitters
Preparation:
Place all ingredients in a shaker with a handful of ice. Shake vigorously until sugar has dissolved and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with fresh pomegranate seeds or maraschino cherry.
Pomegranate Margarita
1 ½ ounces silver tequila
1 ½ ounce fresh pomegranate juice
½ ounce triple sec
2 ounces fresh lime juice
½ – 1 ounce simple syrup or agave nectar
Course salt for rimming (optional)
Preparation:
Rim glass with course salt. (optional) Place all ingredients in a shaker with a handful of ice. Shake and pour over ice. Garnish with fresh pomegranate. Tip: to make salt stick to the rim of your cocktail glass, wipe rim with lime wedge.
Aprons & Stilettos
1 ½ ounces vodka
1 ½ ounces fresh pomegranate juice
Juice from ½ blood orange, about 1 oz (navel orange is fine, but if used I would decrease the amount of triple sec)
½ ounce Triple Sec
¼ ounce elderflower liqueur
Sugar Rim
Preparation:
Place all ingredients in a shaker with a handful of ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a cocktail glass rimmed with sugar. Tip: to make sugar stick to the rim of your cocktail glass, wipe rim with orange wedge.
Pomegranate Tips:
What’s the best way to deseed and juice a pomegranate? First, fill a large bowl with water, cut the pomegranate into quarters, submerge the fruit and begin removing the seeds underwater. The membrane will float and the seeds will sink. Remove the membrane and drain water with a colander.
Next, you have two options for juicing. The first method, and the method I prefer, is to quickly pulse the seeds in a blender and strain using a sieve in order to remove the seeds / pulp. The second method, which my sister shared with me, is to cut the pomegranate in half and juice on a juicer as you would with a lemon. Be careful and make sure you have your APRONS on as the seeds have a tendency to pop and stain.
Aprons & Stilettos 
You are so lucky to have a pomegranate tree! The pomegranate manhattan sounds awesome!
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Thank you! The Pomegranate Manhattan is delicious – if you mix one up, let us know what you think!
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