Cocktail Confessions

I’m proud to announce that purely on a self indulgent whim, I believe I have created a new libation in which I hope you’ll find just as tasty and satisfying as I did.  Anyway, I’d like to think I created it, but I suppose somewhere else on this big blue marble some other prat may have come up with the same concoction to help sway his lady friends into thinking he’s got it going on like Donkey Kong.

The ingrediants are two-fold and simple: pomegranate soda and rangpur gin. 

Rangpur gin is a sweeter gin with the flavoring of lemons and mandarin oranges and is often confused with limes.   Actually, the word Rangpur originated from the Bengali language which is a common name for this hybrid fruit and shares the namesake with the city Rangpur in Bangladesh, India.  Rangpur fruit is highly acidic and can be substituted for commercial limes.

I haven’t decided on a name yet, but I like the kit-bashing name of ‘Pom-Pur’.  A hybrid of the words ’pom’egranate and rang’pur’.  Its fun and easy to say, and rolls of the tongue nicely with a hint of exotic origins.

Pomegranate soda is already bottled by the Safeway/Vons/Pavillons ‘Organic’ line of foods, and is basically pomegranate juice, simple syrup (read: cane sugar) and soda water for fizz.  I suppose if you cannot find this already bottled, then simple ‘POM’ juice and regular soda water will do just fine.  There are also plenty of other pomegranate soda’s on the market, but make sure you look for the ones with only the basic ingredients: soda water, syrup (most likely high fructose), and pom juice.  Anything else gets a bit scary.  Now on to the recipe:

Pom-Pur

• Ice filled tumbler cocktail glass
• 1.5 to 2 oz of Rangpur gin.
• Add remaining pomegranate soda.
• Garnish with (your choice): mint sprig, orange slice or orange rind twist, cherry.

I’ve made quite a few of these treats and passed them around the neighborhood and they seem to be getting a pretty darn good reception if I may say so myself.  Be careful though….the sugar content is deceptively high and masked by the mellow and fruity taste.  A few of these may contribute to that hangover feeling because of the hidden sugar.