The Gall Bracer Cocktail...

...and the importance of using real pomegranate grenadine.

To say I’m a fan of the Old Fashioned cocktail is probably putting it a little mildly. A properly made Old Fashioned is a thing of beauty, and probably the closest to perfection that one can achieve in a libation. I drink enough of them that there’s no need to measure anything when I’m making one at home. I know my glass well enough to eyeball the ingredients and get an identical drink every time.

Since I appreciate this drink so much, I usually notice cocktails that are close relatives to the Old Fashioned. The Gall Bracer is one of these drinks – In fact, it’s only one ingredient away from being an Old Fashioned…

The Gall Bracer Cocktail

2 oz. bourbon or rye

1 barspoon simple syrup

dash Angostura bitters

2 dashes grenadine

Stir with ice & strain into an ice-filled old fashioned glass. Garnish with a cherry, if desired.

As you see from the recipe above, if the grenadine is replaced with an orange twist, you’ve got an Old Fashioned. What I find most interesting about this drink, though, is that it beautifully illustrates the difference that real pomegranate grenadine can make in a cocktail.

My first try at a Gall Bracer was pretty uninspiring. I used store-bought grenadine, and the drink basically tasted like an Old Fashioned with a funky, chemically sort of undertone in place of the sparkle that the orange zest brings to the game, and while I didn’t toss the cocktail into the sink, nor did I feel inclined to have another.

Fast forward a couple of months, and I’m paging through my little recipe notebook looking for something appealing that contains grenadine. I had just finished putting together a small batch of homemade grenadine, you see, and I was eager to try it out in a cocktail. I ran across the Gall Bracer, and decided to give it another shot.

Wow! What a difference this one change made… In place of the nasty chemistry set taste of my first attempt, I instead had a perfectly respectable alternative to my dear Old Fashioned, one that married the tang of fresh pomegranate to the bourbon in place of the citrus notes of my standard cocktail.

Make your own grenadine, and you’ll never buy a bottle of that nasty red stuff at your local supermarket again.

Grenadine

16 oz. POM Wonderful 100% pure pomegranate juice

8 oz. sugar

Splash of vodka or grain alcohol (as a preservative)

Heat pomegranate juice in a saucepan until boiling, add sugar and stir to dissolve. Lower to a simmer and let reduce by half, about 40 minutes. Let cool and add a splash of vodka or grain alcohol as a preservative. Should keep for months, but it’s so good that you probably won’t need to worry about shelf life…

Update - The above post is about a year old, and since writing it I've found a homemade grenadine recipe that I like even better. I take equal parts pomegranate juice and sugar and shake them together until the sugar dissolves, then add a healthy splash of pomegranate concentrate.

You can find pomegranate concentrate in some health food stores and ethnic markets, or click here to buy some from Amazon.