Giroux Grenadine

This weekend I happened by the local liquor store to buy some beer for a get together on Saturday evening. I glanced at the rum aisle, always on the look-out for anything out of the ordinary, and I find this bottle of Giroux Grenadine... at first I was excited hoping this would be some sort of decent pomegranate based alternative to that shit Rose's sells but sadly it's main ingredient is high fructose corn syrup and contains no pomegranate juice. So if you happen across Giroux you haven't found real grenadine you have found the same sugar-water crap in a fancier looking bottle!

John, you ever make your own? Much cheaper in the long run than ordering it, and it tastes fantastic.

I've even switched to a pomegranite concentrate for my recipe of home brewed, and it makes the whole process a snap. You can turn out a liter of it at a time. Freezes well too.

Ahu

KuKu - I did make my own but the stuff got moldy even stored in the fridge... I used the POM pomegranate juice and a ton of sugar, boiled it like the recipe said, kept it chilled and about a month ago I had a friend over and when I was whipping her up a Port Light I noticed the skin of white mold on the top! Had to finish off her drink with Rose's - blech! I'll probably give it another shot whenever I can find the time... this crap will have to do until then! :) Besides I've noticed that few, if any, of my favorite drinks contain grenadine anyway!

True, there are only a few recipes that call for the real stuff, but it is a wondeful ingredient to have on hand for inventing cocktails.

BTW, I believe I have a cure for the mold problem you experienced. I have recently been adding light rum to my grenadine recipe which so far has extended the shelf life considerably. It does make the final product a cordial as opposed to a non-alcoholic syrup, but the amount of rum necessary to ward off growth is not really sufficient to be tasted under the sweetness and the tannin.

Also, as I have mentioned, I have taken to using a concentrate of pom juice that makes the whole process so easy that it completely eliminates my need for commercial brands. One bottle of concentrate, though expensive, makes enough grenadine to last for many months. Especially when you divide a large batch into small amounts and freeze all but one small bottle.

Ahu

[ Edited by: KuKuAhu on 2005-04-26 13:04 ]

For any homemade drink mixes syrups even simple syrup or "Rock Candy" syrup (sugar and vanilla) I routinely add a very small amount of grain alcohol to retard spoilage. It does not add any flavor and in small amounts (

There's always the old standby: Sodium Benzoate.

Only the tiniest of quantities is needed.

=Kukoae=

What ratio did you use? I've made simple syrup using 2 parts sugar to 1 part water that kept relatively well.

Grenadine I tried making 1 to 1 with POM but it spontaneously fermented. :) Gonna try 1.5 to 1 next, and if that doesn't work 2 to 1. :)