A few weeks ago we did a feature on the Tequila Sunrise. That was a fun article because the drink has these three great layers. The drink starts off sour with the lemon juice on top, then it becomes tangy with the orange juice, and then sweet and fruity with the Grenadine. Yum!
But there is one great way to improve the Tequila Sunrise; in fact, this can improve many of your mixed drinks. You can make your own Grenadine.
Real Grenadine is made from Pomegranates, but the stuff you buy in a bottle at the liquor store doesn’t have any pomegranate juice in it – which is why it isn’t nearly as good as homemade.
Also, as with everything else, when you make your own, you can control the flavor. And in the case of making Grenadine, that means really pumping up the pomegranate flavor.
Here’s how to make it:
4 cups of Pomegranate Juice (you can find it on the juice aisle at your grocery store)½ cup of
Sugar2 tbsp Lemon Juice
Stir all the ingredients together in a saucepan and bring to a boil for about 45 - 55 minutes.
You’ll want to test the consistency to make sure it doesn’t get too thick. Here’s how:
As you approach 45 minutes, use a spoon to get a little bit of the grenadine out. You only need a couple teaspoons to do the test. Put it on a plate and let it cool for a minute or so.
Once it is cool to room temperature, tip the plate and watch what it does. It should leave a nice coat of syrup as it easily slides down the plate. If it just sits there in a pile of purple goo, then it is way too thick. If it runs like water, then it’s still too thin.
A great comparison is to just use a little bit of the bottled Grenadine to see how the correct consistency looks. Although the bottled stuff doesn’t taste so great, it is the correct consistency.
The reason you need to get the consistency correct is that if the syrup is too thick then it will just pool at the bottom of all your drinks. Instead you want it to float on the bottom like a cloud.
You will notice that homemade grenadine is dark purple in color. It isn’t red like the junk in the bottle. It also tastes amazing!
Oh, and the other great way to improve your Tequila Sunrise is to squeeze your own orange and lemon juices. Simply outstanding.
There are over 9,000
Mixed Drinks and
Cocktail Recipes at the
Drunk Man's Guide
Layered drinks always make things fun. They add visual interest, and they give an extra dimension to your drinks. Ideally, as you drink them, the drink should change from one extreme to another; tangy to sweet, or spicy to mild. That kind of thing.
