The Homemade Bar: Grenadine Is So Easy to Whip Up at Home

If you mix cocktails at home, you’ve no doubt made simple syrup before. It’s incredibly easy to concoct, cheaper than buying the bottled stuff from the store and also doesn’t come packed with preservatives like the stuff on the shelf. And if you’ve made simple syrup before, it’s actually quite easy to graduate to other, ever-slightly more complicated cocktail syrups, like vanilla or cinnamon. That said, you might not even be thinking about one of the easiest and most delicious cocktail syrups there is: homemade grenadine.

Grenadine is simply a pomegranate syrup, used in everything from the classic Jack Rose cocktail to the Dirty Shirley, which saw a sensational rise in popularity in 2022. And while, yes, you can certainly buy the bright red syrup from the store, the bottled stuff is often sickly sweet, made with high fructose corn syrup instead of regular sugar. 

When making grenadine, some home bartenders like to do things the super-artisanal way by juicing pomegranate seeds. But my preferred method, which is much simpler, comes from the cocktail book Death & Co Welcome Home.

“I’d recommend using a high-quality pomegranate juice,” says Tyson Buhler, director of food and beverage at Death & Co. “If you’ve ever tried juicing a fresh pomegranate, you’ll quickly learn the hassle and mess isn’t worth the effort.”

It’s always comforting to know that even one of the best bars in the world tries to avoid hassle and mess wherever they can. In addition to pomegranate juice and sugar, Death & Co’s recipe also calls for malic and citric acids, which are easy to buy online and in specialty food shops. 

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“Pomegranates have some acidity already, but the addition of malic and citric creates a more well-rounded acid flavor profile,” Buhler says. “Citric and malic are very familiar flavors, whether people know it or not, so it helps when balancing cocktails.”

As for cocktails, there are two Buhler suggests making to put your homemade grenadine to good use. “One of my all-time favorite drinks is the Jack Rose,” he says. “Really simple yet satisfying. The D&C version can be simplified with just one apple brandy and one citrus. Another favorite and really simple drink to make at home is the Mexican Firing Squad. Great option for when you’re looking for [something] a bit more kicked up than a Margarita.”

Without further ado, check out the recipes for Death & Co’s house grenadine, Jack Rose and Mexican Firing Squad. Like any cocktail syrup, grenadine doesn’t last forever, so plan to use it within weeks, not months (a great excuse to throw a party, if you ask me). “Kept in the fridge, it should last a month, no problem,” Buhler says. “A good way to extend that shelf life is to add a bit of vodka to help stabilize.”

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