Pomegranate Margaritas

These margaritas are my go-to cocktail. They are the thing I am most likely to mix up as quickly as I can the instant I realize the sunset is going to be the kind of thing worthy of our full attention.

I holler at my husband while pouring pomegranate juice and tequila into glasses to stop what he's doing and come get his cocktail so we can sit on our deck and toast the sunset with a libation the same color as the sky.

There are three cocktails I'm most likely to mix up by the pitcher for a party: , Passion Fruit Margaritas, The Dirty Shirley, and these Pomegranate Margaritas.

It doesn't really matter if the party includes 2 guests or 20. It doesn't even matter if I know that the guests like margaritas. Everyone always agrees to "just a taste" and then ends up drinking the whole glass and asking for another. 

That's just the kind of cocktail this is: simple, easy, delicious, and exactly right for pretty much any situation. Pomegranate Margaritas are the Little Black Dress of cocktail hour. 

Warning! The recipe for these cocktails includes a bit of margarita heresy. Read on and I'll (hopefully) explain myself and convince you to come with me to the dark side. 

Cheers! 

Add salt to the drink, not the rim

Just like in every kind of food under the sun, sweet and savory, a little bit of salt is incredible at enhancing the flavor of a cocktail. Salt intensifies flavors, and brings balance to cocktails, brightening sweet and sour notes while reducing bitterness.

I'm a fan. Just don't put mine on the rim.

Seriously. I don't get the whole salted rim thing. I don't want to use my cocktail to wash down a mouthful of salt. I want the salt to make my cocktail taste better.

To achieve this, you have to mix it directly into the cocktail, where it can do the most good. Feeling as strongly about this as I do, that's what you'll see in this recipe.

But, it's your cocktail. By all means, if you'd rather salt the rim, salt the rim. I won't judge you. Much.

Why this recipe uses lime cordial instead of simple syrup

Holy moly, there are some Rose's Lime Juice haters out there and they like to make themselves known. I mean... whole articles have been dedicated to telling the world how much they hate the stuff. And, since this isn't the first cocktail recipe I've published that contains Rose's Lime Juice, I've fielded my share of hater comments.

Rose's Lime Juice is simply Lime Cordial - sweetened lime juice and water. The main complaint about Rose's Lime Juice is that it includes high fructose corn syrup. This I get.

High fructose corn syrup is not good for you at all in high doses. But, neither is tequila. We are talking about cocktails here, which I genuinely hope you are enjoying with reasonable moderation.

Unless you're drinking pomegranate margaritas by the gallon, the amount of high fructose corn syrup you will consume in a margarita or two is hardly anything to get worked up about. (Also, if you are drinking pomegranate margaritas by the gallon, is corn syrup really your biggest concern?)

ALSO, I feel it's important to say that not ALL Rose's Lime Juice contains high fructose corn syrup. Rose's Lime Juice Cordial was originally made with sugar. Cadburry's manufactures and distributes it in the US, and they use corn syrup. But the UK and Canadian versions have stayed true to the original recipe. 

Thanks to the wonders of online shopping, you can easily get your hands on the sugar-made version by ordering it online: Rose's Lime Juice Cordial.

Order it by the case so you can make Pomegranate Margaritas any time your little heart desires as well as all of these delicious cocktails:

• Gin Julep
• The Quarter Horse
• Cucumber Gimlet with Mint
• Fresh Squeezed Orange Margarita
• Grapefruit Margarita with Jalapeño 
• Pomegranate Ginger Spritzer

Substitutions for lime cordial

If you don't really want to bother with Rose's Lime Juice at all, no worries. Whipping up a batch of homemade lime cordial is super easy: 

1. Add 1 cup (250g) sugar, 8oz water, 2oz lime juice, 2oz lime peel, and 1oz citric acid in a blender.
2. Blend for about 30 seconds, strain, bottle and refrigerate.

You can also just increase the amount of fresh lime juice and add a few ounces of simple syrup.

OR, whip up a batch of this delicious lemon lime simple syrup and use that instead.

Candied orange slices are the perfect edible garnish

I know. You'd think that I'd want to garnish a pomegranate margarita with pomegranate seeds, but I rarely do. It's simply a matter of laziness and convince. I often want to make these margaritas quickly, spur of the moment, or when hosting a party. In both cases, I don't want to spend the time it takes to seed a pomegranate.

Also, I make these year round and pomegranates are only in season for part of the year.

What I do LOVE to use is candied orange slices, which I keep in my pantry at all times because they are delicious. It's a nice little extra to be able to sip on a margarita while taking nibbles from a sweet and sour candied orange. 

Candied orange slices are super easy to make. But you can also order them. My favorite brand is Trader Joe's Candied Orange Slices.

They'll keep in your pantry for months, just hanging out and waiting patiently for your next margarita. 

For the best margaritas, use quality ingredients

When selecting pomegranate juice, look for a brand that is 100% unsweetened pomegranate juice. This is another ingredient that I often order - the R.W. Knudsen and Lakewood Organic Pomegranate Juice are good brands.

In addition to having some pomegranate juice on hand for these margaritas, I use it to make Pomegranate Molasses. Pomegranate Molasses is one of those ingredients that can quite literally transform your cooking in the best possible way. I use it ALL the time and making it couldn't be easier: Recipe for Pomegranate Molasses.

When buying tequila, it's important to look for a bottle labeled as 100% agave tequila. This means that the tequila is pure agave and nothing else.

Tequilla that's not labled as pure agave is called "mixto" and it can contain up to 49% non-agave ingredients. These other ingredients are not listed on the bottle so it's anyone's guess what they are. Best to stay away and just choose a pure agave variety.

More delicious cocktail recipes

My three other favorite margarita recipes are fresh squeezed orange margaritas, mango margaritas, and grapefruit margaritas. But, I suppose, one cannot live on margaritas alone, so here are a few more of my favorite cocktail recipes.