Pomegranate Martinis

I absolutely love pomegranate martinis. That’s partly because we have a pomegranate tree in our garden in Arizona, so the juice is fresh and free (although labor-intensive). But I also love the sweet taste the juice gives to the martini, when you combine it with the orange flavor of the Triple Sec or the Cointreau.

It gives an unusual and really nice taste to the drink. If we’re just having an easy sundowner, we’ll use whatever cheap vodka has been on sale at Safeway or Walgreen’s. Good quality vodka does improve the taste, and we’ll use a better vodka if we have friends round – but if it’s just the two of us chewing the fat while watching the sun go down over the mountains, cheap tastes fine.

The same goes for whether to use Triple Sec or Cointreau. If we have guests or it’s a special occasion, we use Cointreau. If it’s just another sundowner, we’ll use Triple Sec. We’ve found Triple Sec on sale very cheaply at the local stores, and when you can buy it for a few dollars a bottle, we’ll stock up.

Anyway, here are the pomegranate martini recipes that work for us. If you want to make two quick glasses:

1 oz vodka
3 oz pomegranate juice
1/2 oz Triple Sec or Cointreau

If you’re making a bigger quantity, then these are the proportions we use:

1/4 pomegranate juice
1/2 vodka
1/4 Triple Sec or Cointreau
And a good splash of lemon juice

If you’re lucky enough to have fresh pomegranates like we do, then it looks really nice to sprinkle a few seeds into the glass. And if it isn’t pomegranate season, we just buy the juice from Trader Joe’s or wherever we can get it.