Bitterness In Pomegranate Cocktails: How It Adds Flavour And Complexity
Pomegranates are a mix of sweet and tangy flavours such that their acidic note and mild sweetness brings multiple flavour components into a cocktail blend. When this fruit’s juice or grenadine syrup is combined with the bitter flavours of orange bitters or lime zest, it leads to a combination of sweet, sour and tart tastes that build on the overall complexity of a cocktail.
Evidently, bitter flavours have a significant role to play in creating a well-balanced drink which is complete with the sweetness and tanginess of pomegranates that comes through without being overpowering. Tart tastes counteract some of this sweetness and tang leading to an evenly balanced drink.
For a mixology enthusiast working with this fruit in summer weather, diving deep into the way pomegranates interact with bitter flavours can be useful while blending seasonal drinks.
Read on below to know more about how bitterness builds into the flavour and complexity of cocktails containing pomegranate juice, grenadine syrup or any other pomegranate infusion:
Undercuts Sweetness
One of the reasons bitter flavours are incorporated in cocktails like pomegranate old fashioned or pomegranate paloma are so they cut through the sweeter flavours in the drink coming from the grenadine, to balance them out with tart notes. The fruit itself carries lots of sweet and slightly sour flavours which can be prevented from becoming too cloying with the addition of ingredients such as orange bitters or lemon zest. An old fashioned crafted using 30 ml Johnnie Walker Gold Label or any other premium whisky of choice along with 15 ml pomegranate juice and some lime zest is complete with this balance of sweet and bitter flavours.
Builds Into Sour Notes
Another reason why bitter flavours are always added to pomegranate cocktails is because they go well with the acidity present in the fruit. Along with sweet tastes, pomegranate pods also contain tangy and sour notes which can become more pronounced with the addition of citrus bitters or citrus peels used as a garnish. This is a particularly effective technique used to build the flavour profile of drinks like the tequila sunrise prepared using 30 ml Don Julio Blanco Tequila or any other premium tequila of choice.
Balances Spicy Flavours
In many pomegranate cocktails such as the Singapore Sling or clover’s club, one of the primary ingredients is always a spice like cinnamon or cloves which introduces their spicy flavours into the drinks. Adding a dash of orange or lemon bitters into these cocktails made using Tanqueray No. 10 Gin or any other premium gin of choice tones down some of these spicy flavours when coupled with the sweet and tangy notes of pomegranate juice or grenadine syrup.
Herbal Complexity
In aperitifs crafted using 30 ml Gordon’s Original London Dry Gin or any other premium gin of choice, the role of pomegranate juice is to infuse a hint of acidity and tang to what are otherwise slightly savoury mixes. When herbal bitters are added to this mix of pomegranate and gin, the resulting cocktail is a blend of rather sophisticated, herbal and savoury flavours that are a suitable alternative as aperitifs or flavourful drinks generally served before dinner.
Pomegranates And Dark Chocolate
One of the more elegant mixes added to cocktails is pomegranate and dark chocolate. The bitterness and velvety texture of melted dark chocolate blends with pomegranate syrup to produce exquisite tart and sweet flavour combinations. These can be used to make mixes such as a flavoured espresso martini cocktail crafted using 15 ml pomegranate syrup or grenadine and 2 tablespoons dark chocolate blended with 30 ml Ciroc Ultra Premium Vodka or any other premium vodka of choice.
Drink Responsibly. This communication is for audiences above the age of 25.
