Hi friends,
Well, here we are at the second to last post of 2021 and wow, what a year this has been. I’m feeling very grateful to be able to gather occasionally with friends and family to celebrate life and the holiday season, to continue to write this blog from time to time, and for the health of my family.
Now, let’s talk about our mocktail and cocktail!
For some reason, I have taken a liking to Ginger Beer of late. If you are not familiar with it, it is a non-alcoholic beverage that has the zing of ginger and a little sugar but it’s not terribly sweet. In the summer, I love to add a splash to seltzer water along with a big squeeze of lime for a refreshing mocktail. So it became the basis of a mocktail that I wanted to make, but with more of a holiday vibe. This is not terribly creative, but I mixed together the ingredients for a pomegranate cosmo, minus the alcohol, and paired it with ginger beer and wow – I was in love. A friend asked for the recipe and she tried it and really enjoyed it too, but said that because the ginger beer does add sugar, she also really enjoyed the mixture with just some added seltzer water.
So, when I hosted my cook group for our holiday gathering this past week, I decided to mix up a batch of the base which consists of pomegranate juice, cranberry juice cocktail and fresh lime juice and put it in a big glass decanter. From there, guests could pour the mixture into a glass filled with ice and add either ginger beer or seltzer as they pleased. Everyone who tried it opted for the ginger beer and loved the combination! Plus it looks so festive in a glass, how can you go wrong? I particularly like the Fever Tree brand of ginger beer and they do sell it in large bottles which is nice when you are entertaining.
Because my Word Press only allows for 1 recipe per post, here are the ingredients for my Holiday Mocktail. What should we call it? Someone name it please!
Recipe for 1 mocktail:
2 ounces pomegranate juice, 2 ounces cranberry juice cocktail, 1 ounce freshly squeeze lime juice, 3-4 ounces ginger beer or seltzer. Serve over ice! Isn’t she pretty?
I also promised you a cocktail this week and I was really trying to invent something but let’s face it, I am not a mixologist and I was running out of time. So I turned to Geoffrey Zakarian who often makes cocktails on his Food Network show, The Kitchen, and whose former restaurant The Lambs Club we have enjoyed a couple of times in New York City. As I was looking through all of his recipes, I landed on one for a Retro Rum Ginger Pomegranate Punch and I thought both how fitting that it has similar ingredients to my mocktail, and how wonderful as we have several bottles of rum in our house that nobody drinks! We have it on hand along with a fair amount of ginger beer to offer Dark & Stormy’s in the summer, but we never seem to run out! So, I decided to whip up a batch and serve it to some friends on a different night.
While not everyone was willing to go for a rum punch, those that did wanted more than one so I’d say that’s a success. And I had some leftover that I served to a few of my cook group friends and they also thought it was light and refreshing! If you like a drink that has some citrus notes, isn’t too sweet or fizzy and has a little warmth from the rum I think you will really love this punch and want it for your repertoire.
For me, any beverage that has pineapple juice in it is a winner and this one combines it with pomegranate and orange juices, a mix of dark and white rums and once more the ginger beer. It’s so easy to mix ahead of time and chill, adding the chilled ginger beer right before serving. Again, fill a glass with ice, add the rum punch and maybe float a few pomegranate seeds or a slice of orange and you are good to go!
The glasses in this photo are from Crate and Barrel and are really great for serving cocktails. I believe this is the link if you are interested…
I think we can just stick with the name, Retro Rum Ginger Pomegranate Punch because it’s as descriptive as it gets!
Hopefully, one if not both of these will be on your bar for your holiday gatherings, even if it’s just your family. And you can easily cut down the recipe for the punch to serve a smaller group.
Happy Holidays everyone and I will be back one last time this month with our annual “It’s a Wrap” post.
Until then…
This recipe is from Geoffrey Zakarian via Food Network. It is a fun, festive cocktail that has a little bit of sweetness from the juice, some warmth from the rum and just the slightest fizz and zing from the ginger beer. A real crowd pleaser! The recipe can easily be scaled for smaller or larger groups!
Ingredients
- 2 cups pomegranate juice, chilled
- 1 cup pineapple juice, chilled
- 1 cup orange juice, chilled
- 1 cup spiced dark rum, chilled (I used Goslings)
- 1 cup white rum, chilled
- 10 ounces ginger beer, preferably Fever Tree or Goslings, chilled
- Garnishes: Sliced oranges or pomegranate seeds
Instructions
- If you want to make the drink ahead, combine the juices and the rum and chill in a container in the fridge. Right before serving, add the chilled ginger beer and give it a stir. Pour into a pitcher or a punch bowl. Serve over ice and garnish with an orange slice or some pomegranate seeds.
- If making just in time for your party, make sure all of your ingredient are as cold as possible, combine and put in a pitcher or a punch bowl to serve to guest.
[…] Rum Ginger Pomegranate Punch and a Delicious unnamed Mocktail! […]
So funny, I have developed a thing for all things ginger: ginger tea, ginger ale, and ginger beer! I buy the sugar free Goslings ginger beer. Love these mocktail recipes, Val, and your festive photos. We have many teetotalers in our house so thanks for the inspiration. Plus the reminder that last year’s post was Sticky Toffee Pudding has answered my question of what to serve on Christmas Eve! Merry merry to you and yours! xoxo