20 February 2023
Welcome friends. February is the month that I don't like spending in Chicago. By this point I'm tired of winter, tired of the short, gray days, and tired of the cold temperatures. February is the point where winter begins to feel like an endurance test. Fortunately, my office still has a work from anywhere policy, so I can stay home when the weather is challenging.
Pomegranates and cara cara oranges help me endure the winter. I don't know if it was just my feed on social media or a general trend, but craft cocktails started to appear with more frequency during covid. The ones that interested me always had pomegranate syrup or grenadine. Eventually, I discovered that grenades is the french word for pomegranates, and grenadine is a pomegranate flavoring. I was all in.
This was originally going to be about making grenadine, but I've been using it to make this punch version of a Jack Rose over the winter months, and I love it. I use the french cidre for this. It is warm and gently fizzy. I've tried hard-ciders from cans, but they taste a bit metallic and carbonated.
I am trying to cover all the bases with this recipe. If you don't like seeding pomegranates, you can buy the arils at whole foods or trader joes and start there. If you don't want to make the grenadine, you can buy that as well. If you decide to buy the grenadine, watch out for the ones that are mostly food coloring and syrup. My Jack Rose recipe recommends a small batch version made by Jack Rudy Cocktail Co.
I make grenadine a couple of times over the winter. This year, I tried to get a head start and make it when I first saw pomegranates in the produce section. It turned out to be a waste of time. Half of the fruits I bought were bad and the color of the juice was very light. I had much better luck in mid-december. There is a produce market I frequent that moves them to the refrigerated section in February and those have been excellent.
Jack Rose Punch
5 min. punch prep time | about 1 hr pomegranate prep time | about 15 min. grenadine prep time
Ingredients
Makes 1
- for the punch
- 8 oz french sparkling cidre
- 1 oz grenadine
- 1 oz apple jack
- 1/4 oz fresh lime juice
- for the pomegranate juice
- 2 1/2 cups of the arils, about 2 large pomegranates
- for the grenadine
- 1 cup pomegranate juice
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 Tbl agave nectar
- 1/2 oz pomegranate molasses
- 1 tsp orange blossom water
- 1 1/2 oz vodka
Directions
Make the Punch
combine the cidre, grenadine, apple jack, and lime juice in a mixing container. Stir the mixture, then pour over ice.
Extract the Pomegranate Juice
fill a medium saucepan about 3/4 full of water. Use a sharp knife to cut a square into the top of the pomegranate. Pull off the top and look inside to see the major chambers. Use your knife to cut down along a chamber line, and then pull the pomegranate apart over the pan. From here, you can pull the fruit apart into smaller sections that are easier to get the seeds. If you are getting a lot of juice splatter, submerge the section in water and pull the arils from the membrane. The arils will sink to the bottom of the pan and the chamber tissue and stem will float to the surface. Skim these from the surface and repeat the process with the rest of the pomegranate. Rub off as much of the white stems as possible, and place the arils in a strainer over a medium bowl to drain. Empty the pan and repeat the process with the second pomegranate. Gently shake the strainer a few times to remove some of the moisture.
place the arils in a blender, and pulse the blender on and off to get the juice out of the fruit. You will have more than you need for this recipe. I use the extras to garnish salads.
pour about 1/3 cup of the mixture into a strainer placed over a 2 cup microwaveable liquid measuring cup. Stir the mixture with a rubber spatula to coax out the juice. Discard the seeds and repeat the process with the rest of the mixture.
Make the Grenadine
add the sugar, agave, molasses, and orange blossom water to the pomegranate juice and stir with the spatula.
place mixture in the microwave and microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove the measuring cup from the microwave and stir the mixture a few times. Allow the mixture to cool for 5 minutes, then add the vodka. Stir the mixture a few times to combine. Pour the grenadine into a container and store it in the refrigerator.