Pomegranate Lemon-tini

My two favorite cocktails are Pomegranate Martinis and Lemon Drop Martinis. They’re my tried and true, go-to martini when I’m not inspired to create something different, or can’t decide what to order when I’m out. However, lately, I’ve been making this Pomegranate Lemon-tini at home which is sort of a combination of the two and I really, really like it so I wanted to share it with you all.

First, before I give you the recipe I wanted to tell you about my new favorite vodka. My husband met one of the owners of Prohibition Distillery that produces Bootlegger 21 New York Vodka. He was lucky enough to be given a few bottles to try and boy am I glad he did! Bootlegger 21 Vodka is a fabulous, hand-crafted vodka from New York. It’s made from corn, so for those of you who care, that means it’s gluten free! Bootlegger is a very, very smooth, delicious vodka…so good I almost hate to mix it with any juices at all. If I was a purist and drank regular vodka martinis, this would be the vodka I’d want. Now that I’ve discovered it, I always ask the bartender for Bootlegger 21 in my cocktail if they have it. I highly recommend it. And look at the bottles…aren’t they a work of art? (Sorry about the bad phone pic).

Now back to this cocktail… When making cocktails with pomegranate juice I always use Pom brand. Their Pomegranate Cherry is my favorite, but you can use just plain pomegranate flavor in this martini. Fresh lemon juice is also a must! I also prefer to use Cointreau, but have used Triple Sec just as often and it’s perfectly fine (and much less expensive). Finally, if you like your ‘tini to be sweeter, just add a bit of simple syrup to taste. Sometimes I’ll even make this with limoncello instead of the lemon juice and that’s really good too!

Hope you enjoy this Pomegranate Lemon-tini as much as I do. Cheers & Happy New Year!

Pomegranate Lemon-tini

Ingredients

1 shot vodka
½ shot Cointreau (or Triple Sec)
½ lemon, juiced
½ - 1 shot Pom Pomegranate juice (I like Pomegranate Cherry)
Optional: ½ jigger simple syrup
Garnish: Lemon twist

Instructions

Rub the rim of the martini glass with lemon, then dip in sugar if you want a sugar rim.
Combine ingredients in cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into martini glass. Garnish with lemon twist if desired.

You can substitute the lemon juice with some limoncello (about ¼-1/2 shot) which is delicious! It's sweeter with limoncello so you wouldn't need any simple syrup.