Entertaining

The 7 Best Pomegranate Cocktails

Pomegranate plays a rare starring role in this Martini variation, which includes both pomegranate liqueur and juice from the seedy fruit. Made with black pepper syrup, tequila and a Campari-sugar rim, the drink will leave your taste buds tingling.

There are plenty of red ingredients that would give vodka an attractive pink tinge, but if you’re looking to combine taste and aesthetics in a coupe, look no further than pomegranate and grapefruit. The tart grapefruit lifts the sweet pomegranate (along with a little help from lime), making a pungent sipper worthy of its exuberant look.

This classic rum cocktail, invented during the golden age of boozy cultural exchange between the U.S. and Cuba, gets a modern update with a splash of fresh hibiscus grenadine, a refreshingly light upgrade to the cloying store-bought pomegranate syrup. The flowery notes of the DIY grenadine mesh seamlessly with the orange curaçao and vermouth, helping revive this old standby with fruity vigor.

The sun could never rise through your highball glass without grenadine, the fiery red pool of pomegranate that sits at the bottom of the Sunrise supporting the OJ above. Use fresh juices for a drink that is far superior to the sticky-sweet 1970s original.

Some fruits can get lost in a tall tiki drink, but one look at the Bahama Mama and you’ll know that pomegranate-based grenadine is present and ready for duty. The syrup’s distinctive dye infuses the entire drink. The taste, however, is more of a group effort. The sweet flavor of the syrup is balanced by tart pineapple, orange and lemon, as well as several kinds of rum.

Grenadine is a social butterfly. The flavor chameleon works equally well in dark stirred drinks or citrusy shaken numbers, and it even helps bridge the gap between the two. In the Scofflaw, it helps marry spicy rye whiskey with dry vermouth and lime juice, for a sweet, tart and woodsy aperitif.

Pomegranate isn’t just a tasty ingredient, it’s also an aphrodisiac. In this Valentine’s Day-appropriate cocktail, pomegranate liqueur helps get your blood flowing and adds fruity depth to the seductive mix of chocolate, strawberry and sparkling wine.