If you’re like me you’ve always thought about grenadine as a super-sweet, cherry-flavored flavored syrup better known for its presence in non-alcoholic drinks than cocktails. And as any hard-drinking twelve year old will tell you, its color is anything but natural. However this weekend I was forced to reevaluate my prejudice when my wife Patti found a homemade grenadine recipe that produced a delicious result.

Grenadine Syrup 101

As I quickly figured out, I was totally wrong about Grenadine. First, I never realized that it’s not cherry-based; it’s made from Pomegranates. Second, I never realized how much flavor a homemade syrup can deliver. Intense and tangy, it beats the crap out of anything you’ll find on the shelf and this grenadine recipe will definitely help your drinks stand out from the crowd.

Found in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, here are just a few of the most common drinks that use Grenadine:

Alcoholic	Non-Alcoholic
Tequila Sunrise	Shirley Temple
Hurricane	Roy Rogers
Singapore Sling	Pink Lemonade

Grenadine Recipe

This recipe is super-simple to prepare and you’ll never want to use the store version again once you’ve had the opportunity to try it yourself.

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsweetened pomegranate juice
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

Note: While you can juice fresh pomegranates, we purchased POM Pomegranate Juice to make preparation even easier. While I’m sure that it makes a difference, we couldn’t find the fruit readily available in our area.

Preparation

Combine juice & sugar in saucepan over medium heat.

• Stir mixture until syrup is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (15 min.)
• Store refrigerated up to 2 weeks.

Conclusion

This Grenadine recipe is a definite winner. Whether you’re making cocktails or a non-alcoholic beverage, this syrup is delicious, easy and will take your drinks to another level.