Latest Drink Recipe
Here’s a fun little game you can play. Go ask someone – preferably someone not wearing arm garters or quoting Jerry Thomas – and ask them what’s in a Hot Toddy. The more people you try this game with, the better, because you’re going to get a lot of varied answers. But I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that you’re gonna hear a few of the following ingredients: Lemon… ginger… honey… cinnamon sticks… cloves… cayenne pepper.
The funny thing is that if you look at the earliest Hot Toddy recipe as it appears in Jerry Thomas’ 1862 Bar-Tender’s Guide, it contains none of these things. Here’s the recipe:
1 tea-spoonful of fine white sugar
1 wine-glass of brandy
Dissolve the sugar in a little boiling water, add the brandy, and pour boiling water into the glass until it is two-thirds full Grate a little nutmeg on top.
Water, sugar, brandy, nutmeg. Not even a lousy lemon peel. If you can’t think of anything less interesting or appetizing to drink, take a look at the recipe for the Hot Gin Toddy sometime. Anyway, as I was trying to standardize our Hot Toddy recipe for the bar a few years ago, I spent a lot of time thinking about how to stay true to the historical recipes while still offering a drink I felt our guests would enjoy. In the end, I decided to tell Jerry Thomas to take a flying leap and came up with something much more reflective of the style of cocktail we serve.
So, sure. We came up with a nice recipe that uses ginger and lemon, big deal. But during recipe testing something consistently came up that I felt was a common problem with Hot Toddies offered in many bars these days: they’re never hot enough. So I devised a solution: enter the Bartender’s Bain-Marie.
The technique is simple: fill a shaker tin halfway with very hot water, and build the drink sans water in a second tin nestled in the bottom shaker. Stirring the ingredients for a minute will raise the temperature to the point where we’re no longer serving cold or room temperature ingredients mixed with hot water. The now-warm drink is added to a preheated glass and finished with piping hot water.
Easy to do, and a hell of a lot safer to do at home than heating alcohol on the stovetop (note: do not heat alcohol on your stovetop). Here’s the recipe I landed on for those who want it:
Hot Toddy
1½ oz bourbon
1 oz ginger syrup*
¾ oz lemon juice
1 tsp allspice or pimento dram
3 oz boiling water
Stir bourbon, ginger syrup*, lemon juice and allspice or pimento liqueur in Bartender’s Bain-Marie until warmed through. Transfer to preheated mug and top with boiling water. Garnish with orange peel.
Ginger Syrup
I always refer to this as the “San Francisco Ginger Syrup” method, as I stole it from Jon Santer, who I believe learned it from Thad Vogler, who probably didn’t steal it from anyone because Thad is a genius. At any rate I’ve rarely heard of bartenders in other cities doing it this way and when I have, it’s because they’ve learned it from someone from San Francisco. It’s easy to make, and delicious to use.
Simply combine cleaned (no need to peel the ginger) and roughly-chopped ginger (each piece should be about the size of your pinkie-tip) in a blender with equal volumes of sugar and boiling water. For this I’ve used 8 ounces of chopped ginger, 8 ounces of sugar, and 8 ounces boiling water. Blend on high until mixture is smooth, and then fine-strain through a sieve.
That’s it. Enjoy, and stay warm.
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About Me
My name is Jeff Morgenthaler and I'm the bar manager at Clyde Common in Portland, Oregon.
I've been tending bar since 1996 and writing about it since 2004. I started tending bar while getting my degree in Interior Architecture, and slowly I came to the conclusion that bartending was what I really loved, and that I might as well drop everything and focus on being a professional bartender. Over the years I have strived, both behind the bar and with this website, to elevate the experience of having a drink from something mundane to something more culinary.
The writing I do here is intended as a work in progress. My recipes are like my opinions: they are constantly being revised and refined as I work them through my mind and my fingers. Comments and participation are encouraged, so please don't feel the need to tread lightly here.
10 Dec 2009 at 8:21 AM 1. Kevin L
Nice and simple. I like it!
Now to find some pomegranate molasses…
10 Dec 2009 at 8:50 AM 2. dave
A cool alternative to reducing with heat is freeze-concentrating:
http://bostonapothecary.com/?p=95
Probably a bit labor intensive for a bar, but quite fine for home use.
10 Dec 2009 at 9:26 AM 3. Carlos T
Great recipe Jeff. I’m definitely making this for New Year’s. I love the simplicity….Right up my alley.
and about the pomegranates…..
Just last week I learned how to properly prepare to eat a pomegranate. Turns out I was doing it all wrong.
1. Cut fruit in half.
2. Pound the outside of halfed fruit, with a knife or something, and seeds will easily fall out.
Well, I thought it was simple. Y’all might of known that already…..but since my cable network doesn’t broadcast the Muslim Grandmother’s advice channel, I didn’t know it.
10 Dec 2009 at 9:33 AM 4. John Claude
I always wondered about the removing the seeds bit and all that jazz. When I was messing with pomegranates at Yakuza the juicer worked just beautifully to get a metric shit ton of juice out the fruit.
Where in Portland can I source the molasses?
10 Dec 2009 at 11:12 AM 5. Rocky
Lazy is best!
10 Dec 2009 at 11:56 AM 6. sylvan
@Jean Claude
I know you can find pomegranate molasses at Foti Deli on E Burnside or the little grocery attached to Ya Hala out at SE Stark around 80th. However, like Jeffrey said, almost any Mediterranean or Latin American grocery will have it.
10 Dec 2009 at 12:19 PM 7. Jesh M
Basically the same recipe i use, but I like to use the POM/Cherry juice that they make. I haven’t seen a really good grenadine in the stores, but I saw that Scrappy’s is making one now. Has anyone tried it?
10 Dec 2009 at 1:30 PM 8. Tiare
Hands down brilliant.I`m one of those cocktailbloggers using the picking-out-the-seed-under-water method;-)and ok, its just for my homebar so its ok but if it can be easier the better because i`m lazy too.
Second, i use dried hibiscus flowers to get that deep red color and fresh tropical taste and its fabulous, i have never turned back after that,but..your using of orange flower water and pomegranate molasses intrigues me and i luckily have those things in my fridge right now and as a matter of fact, my grenadine is finished too, so you have now given me a chance to try out a new interesting way to make one of my favorite ingredients and i thank you.
Cheers!
T
10 Dec 2009 at 3:38 PM 9. Damon Fodge
Thanks for that, man. I was never too impressed with my own attempts at homemade grenadine. This is definitely on my to-do bar list.
10 Dec 2009 at 3:46 PM 10. John Claude
Sylvan.
Thanks for the specific locations! I’ll be sure to put those to use ASAP.
10 Dec 2009 at 4:09 PM 11. Janice
Thanks for another great post. I’m another one of those who takes all the seeds out, although I use Tiare’s trick of steeping the seeds with hibiscus flowers to make the grenadine ruby red. Its really pretty. Never thought to try orange flower water.
10 Dec 2009 at 4:41 PM 12. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Thanks, everyone.
Tiare and Janice – The hibiscus is a nice idea, but if you’re mainly using it for color then I think you’re headed down the wrong path. The color of pomegranate juice is rich and vibrant when it hasn’t been boiled. Try the juicer trick, I promise great results.
11 Dec 2009 at 1:55 AM 13. Tony
Nice recipe, nice method!
It got me thinking, where am I going to find this molasses. All the stores around me are south American stores and I have never heard about it here in Brazil :)~
11 Dec 2009 at 7:32 AM 14. David
Awesome recipe. In terms of technique, if you’ve got one of those little battery operated milk frothers then try the cold-process using that little guy to mix it all up. No method is easier that I’ve found. And the frother can cocktail multitask and give you an amazing “dry shake” for any fizz or sour you are adding egg whites to.
11 Dec 2009 at 9:24 PM 15. Matt
I tried using pomegranate molasses previously (actually the brand you have pictured)but it left my grenadine an unattractive brownish color, even with a small amount. Did I have a bad batch?
For now I’m using Ferrara (best commercial brand I’ve found) or cold process with POM.
11 Dec 2009 at 9:28 PM 16. Jeffrey K
How long would it last with the vodka?
I’m the only one who drinks around here, so I’m always keeping track of stuff like that…
12 Dec 2009 at 6:01 AM 17. Dominik MJ
Brilliant post.
I was always against this pomegranate water maceration method – but this sounds like a plan.
Though – does the orange flower water not distract from the taste of the grenadine?
Now I have to get this kind of juicers [I don't think that rotary juicers are working?] and have to compare the the [European] Monin Pomegranate syrup. This is pretty good staff as well – and I can be even lazier…
13 Dec 2009 at 4:08 PM 18. Evan Martin
For those of you who can’t find pomegranate molasses or want to make your own, here’s Alton Brown’s recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/grilled-leg-of-lamb-with-pomegranate-molasses-recipe/index.html
It takes a long time but is a little bit better than the bottled stuff.
13 Dec 2009 at 6:41 PM 19. Jason
Jeffrey – what a super simple recipe for a great result, 1 pyrex, 1 spoon – no mess no fuss.
thanks for sharing!
14 Dec 2009 at 3:31 AM 20. Trevor Easter
great recipe… just used your grenadine post in a gin daisy tonight…. got a double thumbs up from the customer, thank you. also i would like to note i was working a private event in SF and someone asked me for a great gin drink… i made them a richmond gimlet (yes i dropped your name along with my smile when i served it) and the bartender next to me asked what was that and i said “a richmond gimlet” and he (marco dionysos) said nice work jeffrey… thought you would like that.
14 Dec 2009 at 4:45 PM 21. Tiare
Yes i will definetily try the juicing,its brilliant and no..i`m not using the hibiscus just for color and if you haven`t tried it i recommend it warmly because it adds a crisp tropical floral flavour that is just hands down lovely.
I believe i may end up using both the juice and the hibiscus.
I also suspect that after i`ve used my juicer (why didn´t i think about that before???) i will not turn back to the underwater seed picking.
T
16 Dec 2009 at 1:41 PM 22. Mike McSorley
The Scrappy’s Grenadine is darn good. Nice and bright, good viscosity, and I think it’s made cold process.
Expensive.
Hard to Get.
I made some tasty pomegranite molasses while trying to reverse engineer the scrappys, but it never came together; so I reduced it down and was pleased with this recipe as a molasses
1 quart fresh pomegranite juice
1.25 quart (or so) sugar
1.25 oz allspice dram
1 375 ml bottle korean pomegranite wine
(see below url)
http://www.21food.com/showroom/56473/product/Pomegranate-Wine.html
4 oz stirrings blood orange bitters.
Heat on high until boiling. reduce heat to medium. let reduce for about a half hour (until the bubbles start to climb up the inside of the pan.
mixture will be concentrated and viscous after cooling.
Works great in a la floridita!
18 Dec 2009 at 11:52 PM 23. John Park
Thanks Jeffrey, this looks good. Now tell me, in your Jack Rose, lemon or lime?
-JP
01 Jan 2010 at 7:57 AM 24. Jim Rees
I realize I’m preaching to the choir here, but if you don’t want to make your own, you can still do way better than buying imitation grenadine at your local liquor store. I use Rieme but almost anything from France will do. You’ll probably have to mail order from Amazon or other good importer.
Same goes for Orgeat and almost any syrup you can think of.
07 Jan 2010 at 7:00 PM 25. Federico Cuco
Jeffrey thank you very much for the instructions to prepare granandina.
I made 2 bottles
My clients in Buenos Aires, are very happy.
Greatly improves all cocktails containing granandine.
In my opinion you’re the best teacher of bartenders on the planet.
Happy New Year
Cuco
12 Jan 2010 at 8:35 AM 26. Brad
I’m going to try making a batch this weekend. I’m considering using a pomegranate concentrate from GNC called Jensen. I figure I can add enough water and simple syrup to get the flavor I want. Has anyone tried using concentrate instead of juice? Also, has anyone tried using agave syrup instead of sugar?
13 Jan 2010 at 6:19 PM 27. Rocky
Have three batches cooling right now, one made with syrup, and two made with concentrate of different dilutions. We’ll see how they taste. They’re definitely not pretty though.
14 Jan 2010 at 12:45 PM 28. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Rocky – what sort of mess have you made of a project as simple as grenadine? The solutions you have should be bright and pretty – if not, then you’ve done something very, very wrong. I fear, not only for you, my friend, but for the people of Seattle, Washington.
Good luck, and may God have mercy on your soul.
25 Jan 2010 at 7:59 PM 29. john
I made this recipe just now it it came out as advertised – delicious and attractive. I had only one old pomegranate in the fridge that yielded only half a cup of juice, but the math was easy and the results superb.
I mixed up two Scofflaws (from Dr Cocktail book) for my wife and myself, one with Rose’s and one with this recipe. We dumped the Rose’s one and shared the one with the new Grenadine!
10 Mar 2010 at 7:24 PM 30. Jim
I gave this recipe a try with mixed results (and a whole lot of mess!) I used my Krups juicer and (3) whole poms resulted in barely (1) cup of juice. The mess was ridiculous. My microwave took 4 minutes to dissolve all the sugar. It ended up bubbling over and left a sticky pom-a-mess all over the interior. The end product was quite delicious, but in the future I’ll do (3) things:
1) Buy POM juice from the supermarket instead of juicing fresh poms.
2) Dissolve the sugar on the stove in a saucepan.
3) Use less Orange Blossom Water. That stuff is uber-fragrant and a little goes a long long way.
13 Apr 2010 at 6:01 PM 31. Michael Maier
http://www.strirrings.com
Stirrings makes a real grenadine with pure sugar (not HFCS). I think it has a good flavor to it.
I like a small drizzle in a good vodka for a simple cocktail.
I wouldn’t mind trying the fresh recipe here though. Sounds very good and I love making bar fixings fresh (fresh sour mix is killer).
23 May 2010 at 11:20 AM 32. Jeff Frane
OK, that was ridiculously easy, one might even say “simple.” The kicker is the pomegranate molasses, which is obscenely good on its own.
I had previously used the reduction method and not only was it time-consuming, the resulting syrup was much too thick, especially since I was keeping it in the fridge. I feel a Picon Punch coming on.
For Portland-area shoppers, I found the ingredients at Barbur World Foods, which may be my new home.
06 Jun 2010 at 3:17 PM 33. Ginty
Hey, just wondering is there a difference between Orange Flower Water and Orange BLOSSOM Water.
The Blossom Water is at my local supermarket, so was unsure if it’s the same product or not.
06 Jun 2010 at 4:38 PM 34. john
It’s the same thing – just a matter of translation. An orange blossom IS an orange flower, it’s just that different importers have the same product name translated different ways.
25 Jul 2010 at 12:40 PM 35. Omar
My wife and I were wondering how long is the shell life of the grenadine?
26 Jul 2010 at 8:54 AM 36. john
I made mine 6 months ago and used some last week – it still tasted and smelled great.
I keep it in a smallish glass bottle in the fridge, and when it gets low enough I move into into a new smaller clean glass bottle.
27 Jul 2010 at 10:29 AM 37. Mr. Exclusive
I came here because I wanted to make a Grenade, not Grenadine! >.> (Curses his dyslexia as he closes this random grenade recipe)
01 Nov 2010 at 10:05 PM 38. Dave
Hust used this method to make grenadine, and it turned out great! I might use your ginger beer recipe once I get the equipment! Thanks from this poor grad student for some economical and fun things to make.
06 Jan 2011 at 3:51 PM 39. Steve Garcia
Excellent recipe. I made 2 modifications.
I used Hangar 1 Mandarin Blossom for preservative & I steeped 2 Hibiscus tea bags for 5 minutes as the mixture cooled. The tea adds more vibrant color and also cleans up the finish, while the vodka gives a bit more depth to the flavor profile. CHEERS!
17 Mar 2012 at 3:39 PM 40. Dusty
Just made this! So good.
07 Sep 2012 at 8:07 PM 41. Agavni
I made this today but instead of orange blossom water, I used rose water. It has a nice floral under tone. Thanks for the recipe.
13 Dec 2012 at 12:00 PM 42. Suzanne
Just made this and it is wonderful. I used my juicer attachment for my food processor and found the pom. molasses and blossom water at my local Whole Foods store. It took me less than half an hour with clean up to make this. Thank you for your time on this recipe. Happy Cocktails!
23 Dec 2012 at 9:31 PM 43. Emily
I just made some of this for a Christmas present! My only complaint was entirely my fault: I used a juicer attachment on a magic bullet. Don’t do that. Get a legitimate juicer.
I planned on doubling the recipe, but it turns out my four pomegranates yielded a bit less than two cups of juice. When I make this again I might try to see if I can find cheap pomegranate juice at the market where I got the molasses and orange blossom water, so I don’t have to do the juicing myself.
28 Apr 2014 at 4:10 PM 44. Constantine Aperio
Cold infusion: Use the iSi Gourmet Whip Plus to infuse the hibiscus flowers into the freshly pressed pomegranate juice. Then proceed with the sugar and molasses.
As for the juice press, this has the potential of also pressing the pith/membrane making the juice bitter. Removing seeds (arils) and gently pressing in a chinois or even a zip-lock bag will produce a cleaner product. Giving the juice ample time to rest after pressing will allow the fine sediment to fall out and the end result will be a deep red clear juice.
22 Sep 2014 at 5:38 PM 45. Elisson
Best. Grenadine. Recipe. Ever.
I’ve used this in Jack Rose cocktails, in Have a Heart cocktails, and Gawd knows what else. Stupendous.
17 Oct 2014 at 11:07 PM 46. Martin
I made a batch last year with the juicer and agree that the pith makes the juice unpleasantly tannic. This year I separated the arils in a pot of water (the arils sink and the pith floats) and juiced the arils in a hand-crank food mill. I also strained the final product through a fine chinois and this batch is wonderful. The extra effort to get pith-free juice is worth it.
14 Nov 2014 at 5:39 PM 47. JP
Sublime flavor, and it excels in a Jack Rose and Ward 8. Any other suggestions for cocktails? Would try Have a Heart but I have no Punsch…am I missing something?
30 Mar 2015 at 12:00 AM 48. Cod R Physh
I need to try this version. In mine I use 8oz Pomwonderful, 8oz Morena sugar, and three barspoons of Hibiscus tincture. It has a nice ruby colour, great taste with a hint of the floral from the hibiscus.
29 Sep 2015 at 3:39 PM 49. adriana
I tried this w fresh pressed pomegranates,pith free (which does make the recipe take much longer than 5 minutes but as I read from a comment above its worth the effort) but I resulted w a bit less than 2 cups, so I adjusted the sugar to keep the 1:1 ratio.
I substituted the orange blossom water for orange bitters and added a few dashes of rose water. Also substituted the molasses for agave syrup to use what I had on hand.
The result was MARVELOUS – thanks for sharing your quick technique- nuked it just over a minute, and everything else incorporated very easily!
20 Dec 2015 at 5:36 PM 50. bill
I realize that this is a post which originated 6-7 years ago, but that does not, in any way, invalidate Jeffrey’s guidance. In reading through the earlier comments, I saw a lot of “looks good, looks easy, so I’ll try it”. I wanted to report that I followed Jeffrey’s instructions without deviation (using POM instead of squeezing my own fruit; uber lazy) and the results were spectacular. If you follow his instructions you will never buy grenadine again. This is orders of magnitude better than anything you can buy, and it makes a huge difference in whatever cocktail you are mixing/shaking (mine went into the scofflaw). Thanks Jeffrey for an easy-to-make and completely superior recipe to anything one can purchase.