Typically, my drink of choice has always been vodka, but lately Mauricio has really gotten into bourbon, so I thought I’d create a fun holiday cocktail with one of his favorite spirits, and switch it up a bit. In general, manhattans are quite a strong drink. For the holidays, I prefer to have mixed drinks that are a little bit on the mellow side, so everyone can still get through dinner 🙂 Typically, holiday drinks have cranberry and rosemary in it, but I wanted to go another route, which is how we ended up with a pomegranate manhattan cocktail.
As far as bourbon drinks go, I promise this pomegranate manhattan cocktail will be a hit with rye, bourbon or whiskey drinkers. If you want to make this pomegranate cocktail a little less boozy, just add more pomegranate juice to the recipe. I also wanted to call this cocktail my holiday manhattan, because it looks festive and feel like you should have on a sequin skirt to properly enjoy it. A fancy holiday deserves a fancy cocktail, don’t you think?
The pomegranate manhattan cocktail recipe is a twist on the classic manhattan cocktail. The classic manhattan recipe uses a rye whiskey, but any whiskey bourbon works great. For the twist on the classic I went with a bourbon. Some recipes of pomegranate manhattan omitted the sweet vermouth, but my recipe still uses the sweet vermouth as well as the bitters, and just adds pomegranate juice. (You can skip the sweet vermouth, and just use pomegranate juice if you don’t have sweet vermouth on hand. )
Basically, you are making a true manhattan cocktail and are adding pomegranate juice to make it a festive holiday manhattan, and also not as strong of a cocktail as the original. A good win for a holiday drink.
Other Cocktails To Try
Other Cocktail Recipes with Pomegranate Juice
Another great idea would be to use your pomegranate juice, or if you have pomegranate liqueur or even grenadine syrup would be to add it to your sparkling cocktail. Think pomegranate mimosa, just add pomegranate juice instead of orange juice, or pomegranate Prosecco. Pour two ounces of Pama Pomegranate Liqueur into your champagne flute and top with sparkling wine. Those would be wonderful for Christmas brunch, but the pomegranate manhattan cocktail is definitely your evening cocktail. Not a fan of manhattan cocktails or bourbon drinks? You can even use pomegranate juice in a cosmopolitan. In short, I’m a big fan of pomegranate mixed drinks, and you should be too!
Pomegranate Manhattan Cocktail Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ounce bourbon or blended whiskey
- 1 1/2 ounce pure pomegranate juice
- 1/2 ounce sweet vermouth
- 2 dashes of angostura bitters
- pomegranate arils for garnish
Directions
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes, then add all drink ingredients and shake well, until the shaker feels cold.
- Strain into a Martini glass. Garnish with pomegranate arils
P.S. I found these amazing coupe glasses at World Market, and I love them for sparkling cocktails or martinis!
Print Ready Recipe for Pomegranate Manhattan Cocktail
Pomegranate Manhattan Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 oz bourbon or blended whiskey
- 1 1/2 oz pure pomegranate juice
- 1/2 oz sweet vermouth
- 2 dashes angostura bitters
- pomegranate arils for garnish
Instructions
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes, then add all drink ingredients and shake well, until the shaker feels cold.
- Strain into a Martini glass. Garnish with pomegranate arils
Entertaining Made Easy
If you’re entertaining this holiday season, a great pairing for the pomegranate manhattan are these mini brie bites with cranberry orange relish. They’re easy to make and require minimal prep, and compliment the pomegranate manhattan cocktail really well.
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