POM Pomegranate Martini

I was contacted a few weeks ago by the POM Pomegranate Juice staff. They were apparently targeting food bloggers and came across my cooking blog. They offered me a free case of Pomegranate Juice. That was it, just "you want some juice?" No stipulations about writing about it or sharing it or cooking with it. Just take it!

Alrighty! After scrutinizing the fine print, I gave them my mailing address. Yay, free juice, coming my way! It was just a few days before the case arrived on my porch, with a little cold pack inside of the box, along with 8 of these cuties:


I don't, actually drink a lot of fruit juice; it's so often chockful of sugar and calories that I steer away from it. When I do drink it, it's usually a splash in a glass of club soda, or Mendota Springs Sparkling Water.

The POM juice is enticing though. My box came with some literature about its benefits, and I, of course, surfed around the net for sources outside the POM company that would back up the claims they make regarding cardiovascular health, antioxidant potency, and prostate health (of which I am currently fine). Remember when my research for wheatgrass benefits turned up "unsubstantiated claims" over and again? Not so for the beneifit of the Pomegranate. Seems like it's a legitimate superfood—like spinach, only not.

Lisa, at Champaign Taste also accepted an offer for free POM juice, and she challenged me to a Pomegranate Cocktail Throwdown. That juice is entirely too healthy for us. Let's add booze.

I surfed around and compared different recipes, and came up with a possible version of a Pomegranate Martini. For my assignment. My project.

Then I gave the recipe to Clint, and said "you have to make a martini for my blog project. Here's the recipe." Seriously, he just mixes a better drink than I do. He can shake the shaker with more strength, or something. His drinks always come out with actual ice crystals on top. He was clearly the man to execute my project.

Staging:

Pomegranate Martini

2 oz. vodka
4 oz. POM pomegranate juice
juice of 1/2 lime
2 Tablespoons simple syrup*
1/3 oz. Triple Sec (or, more than 1/4, but less than 1/2)
lemon for garnish

Shake it up!

For a sweet treat, run the edge of a lemon around a chilled martini glass first, then roll it in sugar. Pour:



Add a twist of lemon:


Then give it here, and let me drink it. This is one very yummy beverage. For a fruit drink, it's not too sweet; the POM is a little tart, and the lime takes the edge off of the other sweet ingredients. It's like a liquid sweet-tart!

I really like the POM juice in any form I drank it: straight up, as a spritzer, and in the martini.

I have to be honest, though, and say that I find the stuff a little pricey, at $3.99 (and more) for 16 oz.

On the other hand, my research showed that POM was much cheaper than most other brands of pomegranate juice:

Yes, that is $1.50 off of the regular price of a 32-oz. bottle; it's normally $12.99. In comparison, $6.50 for 16 ounces, twice what POM costs.

POM wins hands down on the price competition. It's good stuff, and good for you.

I don't want to bite the hand that feeds me (or gives me free juice) but honestly, pomegranate juice by any brand isn't very family-friendly. If you drink 8 oz. a day, every day, to get the benefits stated in the literature, you're looking at a $60 monthly juice habit.

Uh, for just you.

Want to give it to your husband and kids too?

My friend Frugal Mom would be looking at $300 a monthly POM bill if everyone in her household had 8 oz. a day of it. Judging from her screenname, I doubt she'll go for it.

I wonder if the POM people can do something about that?

That said, I'd still opt for the POM juice over a $4.50 cup of Starbucks tea, or be willing to put back a (one, just one!) bottle of wine and take home a couple bottles of the healthier POM instead.

It's an "occasional" drink.

And realllly good in a martini.

*Simple syrup: Water and sugar, 1:1 ratio: boil until sugar dissolves, set aside and let cool. Voila! Liquid sugar!

**I'll let you know when Lisa posts her cocktail!