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This pretty Pomegranate Cocktail is perfect for the holidays or Valentine’s Day! Pomegranate juice is lightened up with sparkling water plus a splash of vanilla vodka to make a festive seasonal drink.
Why You’ll Love This Pomegranate Cocktail
Festive and fun, this cocktail with pomegranate is sure to be a hit at all of your winter gatherings from Thanksgiving and Christmas to New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day (or Galentine’s!). Serve it during cocktail hour or as a dessert drink after a big meal. Here’s why you’ll love this pomegranate cocktail:
- Not too sweet. I love pomegranate juice because it’s flavorful without being overly sweet. You can always a bit more sugar or simple syrup if you prefer a sweeter cocktail.
- Easy to adapt. See my suggestions below, but know that’s so easy to make this drink into a mocktail that will still taste wonderful.
- Festive. A little sparkle, in this case in the form of bubbly water, instantly transforms any drink into a festive sip!
Pomegranate Drink Ingredients
You need just 5 ingredients to make this beautiful cocktail. Make sure to check the recipe card at the end of this post for the full ingredient amounts.
- Pomegranate Juice: You can use pure pomegranate juice or a pomegranate-cranberry or apple blend.
- Sparkling Water: For some festive bubbles.
- Granulated Sugar
- Vanilla Vodka: Or you can use plain vodka if you prefer. See my article Is Vodka Gluten Free? for more info on choosing a safe plain or flavored vodka.
- Sanding Sugar: For the rim of the glasses. I like to use pink sugar to make it extra pretty.
How to Make a Pomegranate Cocktail
Here are the few simple steps you’ll take to make this lovely drink. The detailed instructions are in the recipe card lower down.
- Combine. Stir together all of the ingredients except the sanding sugar.
- Serve. Coat each glass rim with sugar and divide the drink evenly between the glasses. Serve immediately!
Vodka Cocktail Variations
This cocktail is beautiful in its simplicity and easy to adapt if you wish. Check out a few tips and variation suggestions below:
- Use plain vodka. If you don’t have or don’t care for vanilla vodka, you can use your choice of plain vodka in this cocktail instead.
- Double the batch. It’s simple to batch-make this cocktail. You can double or even triple the amounts called for to serve a larger crowd.
- Make it non-alcoholic. It’s so easy to make this drink into a mocktail! Just skip the vodka and add an extra splash of pomegranate juice or even some orange juice.
- Add sparkling wine. For a bit more of an alcoholic punch, swap the sparkling water for sparkling wine.
- Or sparkling cider. Alternatively, to add another flavor note, you could swap the sparkling water for sparkling apple cider or sparkling pomegranate juice.
- Substitute cranberry juice. To make this into a cranberry cocktail, substitute an equal amount of cranberry juice for the pomegranate juice. Or, you could do a combination of cranberry and pomegranate juice.
Serving Suggestions
Pomegranate cocktails are wonderful at festive winter gatherings, with sweet or savory dishes, or during cocktail hour. Here are a few of my suggestions for what to serve with cocktail pomegranate:
- Holiday meals. Pomegranate cocktails were made for holiday celebrations! I have a wide selection of recipes that are perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and Valentine’s Day. Plan to add this pomegranate cocktail to your agenda.
- With appetizers. Serve cocktail pomegranate with appetizers like my Baked Brie with Honey and Nuts, Spinach Artichoke Quinoa Bites, or Mediterranean Chicken Pinwheels recipes, or choose from my appetizers section.
- Add some sweet treats. You can also serve pomegranate cocktails with sweet bites! A plate of Gluten Free Sugar Cookies is always welcome or pair these pretty drinks with a Gluten Free Gingerbread Loaf.
- Simple snacks. Set out bowls of salted, roasted nuts, popcorn, chips, or pretzels for simple nibbles to go with pomegranate cocktails.
Pomegranate Cocktail
Ingredients
- 12 ounces pomegranate juice
- 12 ounces sparkling water
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 4 ounces vanilla vodka
- sanding sugar for glass rim
Instructions
- In a pitcher, combine pomegranate juice, sparkling water, sugar and vanilla vodka. Stir until fully combined.
- Take a lemon or a bit of water and run it along the rim of your glasses. Rub the rim into sanding sugar to coat.
- Divide the cocktail between the glasses.
Did you make this?
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Ooh, I love pomegranate San Pellegrino, but you had me at vanilla vodka and pink sanding sugar. LOVE.
Right?!?! So pretty in pink!
Love Galentine’s Day! It is one of my favorite parts from Parks and Recreation! Need to look for Pomegranite San Pellegrino now!
YUM! How have I missed Pomegranate San Pellegrino?? I bet it’s just lovely with the vanilla vodka!
I know, what a great combo!