The Pomegranate Martini, Part 2

So, this week it's the vodka martini version of the pomegranate martini. In the hope that I could make one drink and call it a day, I started with the recipe from last week, and simply swapped out the gin for vodka. Hey, maybe I get lucky and we all go home early!

Yeah, not so much. As expected, when you're trying to be noticed over the top of gin, you have to be much more shouty with your flavors. With vodka, there's a whole midrange of flavors that disappear, and suddenly you're shouting in an empty room with no good effect. For the vodka version, we need to tone down the flavors to a more subtle level to be appreciated.

There's a variety of recipes on the Internet, and all of them have the basic three ingredients: vodka, pomegranate juice, and orange of some kind. We fiddled a bit with options, but settled with Patrón Citrónge as a starting orange flavor source, and my faithful standby of Watershed Distillery for the vodka (though any good, neutral vodka would work). Our first step was to determine where the ratio of Citrónge to vodka would give us a subtle layer of orange without being too sweet. Two parts vodka to 1 part triple sec worked to give a balance between the two I liked. (Note that Citrónge is 80 proof, so simply swapping in triple sec for it is going to change things radically. Ditto for Grand Marnier, as the base alcohol is so different. Cointreau is probably a reasonable swap, but keep reading.)

This Wave Polka Dot Martini

glass (7.5oz), is available on the 

Contemporary Complements

website.

Next was ratio of alcohol to pomegranate juice; recipes ranged from 2 parts vodka, 3 parts pomegranate juice all the way up to 3:1. The vodka/Citrónge mix to pomegranate juice at 1:1 tasted good, and with a splash of lemon from a wedge, it gave the drink a nice, balanced taste that everyone involved liked.

But, I wasn't quite convinced we were there. One of the liqueur options we have here at Chez Yeager is Pama pomegranate liqueur, and I wondered whether the clear, concentrated flavor of the Pama might give a cleaner taste to the drink than the juice. So, we went back to the drawing board for a balance of vodka to Pama. The Pama website starts with 2 parts Pama to 1 part vodka; this might help them sell more Pama, but it was not a ration I could live with. Splitting the difference between the folks involved with the tasting, we came up with a 2:3 ration of Pama to vodka. With two alcohols already going in, I wondered if I could get rid of the third, so we bid a reluctant farewell to the Citrónge (actually, the Citrónge flat-out overpowered the drink in testing) and went to the fresh orange juice of last week's drink. A squeeze of lemon later, and we were at a happy place for all involved. Preferred above the pomegranate juice version, the Pama version allows a clear, clean pomegranate note to sing through, with the citrus gently singing harmony underneath.

Pomegranate Martini (vodka version)

1.5 oz. vodka (Watershed, or any other neutral vodka)
1 oz. Pama pomegranate liqueur
.5 oz. orange juice (fresh, unsweetened)
Juice from a small wedge of lemon

Combine ingredients. Shake briefly with ice and strain into a martini glass.