Sultana

Last weekend I was introduced to the splendor that is the pomegranate martini, and I am in love. I need to master this drink, and would love to see your recipies for my "scientific field research".

This is what I have so far (via google):

P O M E G R A N A T E M A R T I N I
Jason Kosmas of Pravda in New York City
Adapted by StarChefs
INGREDIENTS
2 ounces Fresh Squeezed Pomegranate Juice*
2 ounces Vodka
1/4 ounce Simple Syrup**

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass.
Shake vigorously with ice and strain into a Chilled Martini Glass.

* To make Pomegranate Juice, cut a ripe medium sized pomegranate in half and squeeze with any conventional juicer. Each Pomegranate should yield about 4 ounces of juice.
** Simple Syrup is made by combining equal parts superfine sugar and water, bringing it to a boil, and letting it simmer until it's the consistency of honey.
***
Oprah's Pomegranate Martini, Serves 2
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice
2 oz. Absolute Citron vodka OR white tequila
1 oz. Cointreau liquor
Cup of ice
Optional: Splash of sparkling water
Optional: Squeeze of lemon
Shake ingredients in a shaker and put in chilled martini glasses. Put pomegranate fruit into glass as garnish.
***
2 oz citrus vodka
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
1/4 oz fresh pomegranate juice
1 oz simple syrup
Shake all ingredients well with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Add a dash of rose water if available. Garnish with flamed orange peel, and serve.

How does one make a "flamed orange peel", anyways? Pass it through a flame for a few seconds?
And yes, I'll juice fresh poms if I can find them. The martini I had last weekend had a raspberry in the bottom, it was a great touch.

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Toaster126

All this prep for a drink seems to take all the fun out of it for me. Boiling sugar + water mixture? Rose water? Flamed orange peel?!

Different strokes, I guess...

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maleficent

Simple syrup is used in a lot of drink recipes - if you are using a bottled Pomegranite juice (Pom i think is hte bestbrand - you don't need it -- it owuld make the drink too sweet) though it's nice to have simple syrip on hand for fresh iced tea...


It's basically a cosmpolitan with pom juice instead of cranberry juice but no no no no on ophrah's recipe on the sparkling water - and I'd use grey goose orange vodka over absolut...

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martinguerre

how sweet do you want it?

i'd think you'd want to cut it some...unless it's supposed to be more like a cosmo. i might use a 1:1 pomegranate and pepper vodka mix, touch of vermouth, and maybe a dash of angustura.

that'd be a savory varient, but that may not be the point...

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snowy

A pomegranate martini is supposed to be sweet...vermouth would just kill it.

I'd say yes, make it like a Cosmo, but instead of using triple sec (which is what most Cosmos call for) use a better orange-flavored liqueur like Grand Marnier or Cointreau (both of which will cut the sweetness and add balance to the cocktail).

Personally, I think good cocktails are about finding what works for you. So get some good ingredients (POM, actual pomegranates, Grand Marnier, simple syrup) and make a lot of different kinds of pomegranate martinis until you find one that fits YOU. Then you have a signature drink you can make for all of your friends as well Also, it's not necessary to juice the pomegranate: treat it like you would a fresh lime or lemon when making a cocktail. Get a shaker, put the pomegranate and ice in the shaker, and muddle it with a muddler (if you don't have a muddler a wooden spoon works just as well usually, especially with ice as it helps break things up a bit), then mix your cocktail. Use a good, bar-quality strainer to strain the drink into your martini glasses.

There are tons of ways to use pomegranate in making cocktails. Have fun with it.

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Sultana

Here's more info on the flaming orange zest, from the ever-zesty Onesnowyowl:

http://www.webtender.com/iforum/message.cgi?id=32925
Followup to: "How to garnish with a flamed orange peel ??" by BMFin (Thu Aug 26. 2004, 02:47 GMT)


> - How would the peel look like ?
> - Size and shape ?
>
> - Would you prepare it infront of the customer, even if you knew in
> beforehand you are going to need them for garnish couple of times in
> every evening ?
>
> - How would you flame it ?
>
> - How would you have it in a cocktail glass ? in a cocktail pick ??
>
> How about "flamber":ing the peel in in alcohol in a small plate in
> front of the customer ?
>
> Thanks !
>
>
> Ville

Ville,
I usually cut the peel from top to bottom, trying to get only the pith. The
size can be variable, but large enough to be handled comfortably, about the 1
or 2 inches in diameter is fine.

Cut it fresh from the orange as you work, or have some pre cut and in your
garnish tray, keep in mind, once you cut them off, they will start to dry out.
You should only want to use it for one cocktail, once, maybe twice.

Before you squeeze the zest, flick your lighter on, and hold it just in front
of the drink your flaming to. Squeeze the zest so the oils will spray over the
drink and leave an awesome burnt orange smell and flavour. You can usually get
2 good squeezes out of one piece.

Do all of this on your bar top, where multiple guests can see your flame, no
doubt you will sell a lot of the cocktail as people like to see the flame,
from my experience anyway.

I dont usually garnish with the squeezed peel, instead i use a small wedge and
simply put it on the side like lime on a margarita.

Practice at home before settig your bar alight!

Have fun with it, lloks great in dark nightclubs!

__________________
"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.
At night, the ice weasels come." -

Matt Groening

My goal? To fulfill my potential.

No surrender

Grapefruit - Pomegranate Martini

4 oz grapefruit vodka
1 oz (or to taste) Pomi pomegranate juice. (Can also use the pomi-cherry flavor)

Add ingredients over ice and shake like hell until ice crystals are in mix - pour into martini glass. Garnish with lemon twist if you have 'em. Enjoy.

snowy

I should note one strategy here, Sultana, depending on how you want your drinks to look.

If you're going for a pretty straight martini (pom juice/vodka) and you want it to appear clear, stir it in the shaker instead of shaking it. Shaking makes the drink cloudy (ice crystals). However, if you're putting lime juice or other cloudy things into it, you might as well shake it.

Furthermore, don't forget to chill your martini glasses prior to serving. This is easily accomplished by simply filling them with ice and letting them sit for a minute, then throwing the ice out and pouring the drink into the chilled glass.

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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Martel

Flamed zest comes to us from Dale Degroff, one of the preeminent cocktails gurus these days... He likes to use it in lots of different drinks, as noted above its just like doing a twist except you want the oil to go through the flame on its way to your drink. It does make things taste a little different but I think that it's mainly for show.

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