Grenadine Vodka Pomegranate Juice Cocktail

Grenadine Vodka Pomegranate Juice Cocktail is a sweet, tart, perfectly pink drink for a weekend night with the loved one. Once, I got a bottle of a famous vodka from Russia as a gift and have tried a few popular vodka cocktails. I have enjoyed this recipe the most. 

The French word grenadine is pomegranate. So, the grenadine syrup should consist of pomegranate juice. Because the cost is too high, nowadays, grenadine syrup is made with a mix of other fruits, such as raspberry, red currant, elderberry, etc. During a two-week summer trip in France, I bought a few bottles of syrups, including grenadine syrup made from pomegranate. Therefore, in the beginning, I only used the syrup for the cocktail, and the cocktail tasted quite okay.

As you might have learned from my pomegranate salad recipe, I like pomegranate very much. To make the cocktail fruitier, I also mix the sweet pomegranate juice to balance the hardness of the vodka. The cocktail comes out perfectly.

Main ingredients

The main ingredients of this cocktail are pomegranate, grenadine syrup, and mint leaves.

Pomegranate: A good pomegranate should be heavy and firm to touch. That means it is full of juice. A dark ruby red colour is an indication of good quality.

Grenadine syrup: I always use the grenadine syrup made from pomegranate. Once I used honey to sweeten the cocktail, but it was not a good idea. The honey syrup had a dominant flavour. However, grenadine syrup made from other fruits such as raspberry and red currant works as well. 

Mint leaves: I add the mint leaves to get a fresh aroma. Also, I garnish the cocktail with mint leaves. 

How to make Grenadine Vodka Pomegranate Juice Cocktail

The difficult part of this recipe is to remove the arils from the pomegranate. I only use a knife to tear the red outermost layer of the pomegranate.  Don’t cut into the fruit to prevent losing the juice. Once I see the white part, I use my fingers to rip the fruit into small parts.

Then I use my finger to gentle release the seeds. If they don’t come out right away, use a bit more force. I use a spoon to strain the pomegranate liquid into a container. You can also get the juice using a blender. Pulse the arils a few times to break them apart and release their juice. But don’t blend them for a long period, or the seeds will break apart and create cloudy juice.  To prepare the drink for more people at once, I would use a blender.

Then, just mix the grenadine syrup, pomegranate juice, mint leaves, and crashed ice in a cocktail shake. Mix well and pour into a glass.  Add ice and the rest arils to the drink and garnish the drink with fresh mint leaves. 

Tips for the recipe

I create the alternative versions by replacing the Vodka with Gin, the cocktail tastes perfect as well.

If grenadine syrup is not available, you can use sugar as substitute for the sweetness. For the recipe here, I add two teaspoons of sugar.

Did you make the recipe?

You can save the recipe or pin it for future cooking. I’d love to know how it turned out for you! Please let me know by leaving a review below and tag @cuisinereinvented on Instagram and hashtag it #cuisinereinvented.