Here we are with day 2 of our New Year Cocktails and I am super excited about this one!
I’ve also decided to declare it cocktail week here on the blog. Because I love me some cocktails and have a few more coming your way!
I also made another handy little GIF for you to enjoy because now that I know how to make them, I am a little obsessed with trying to get my images perfect to make a sweet GIF.
And yes, if you are wondering, this GIF took me 3 different takes to get it close to perfect. And yes, I drank the champagne of the “unused” cocktails. Can’t let that goodness go to waste!
Originally this cocktail was supposed to have fresh cranberries instead of cherries… because well, it is winter and cranberries are something you see in fall/winter.
However, when I went to the store to get fresh cranberries I was super upset to find that there were no fresh cranberries even though they just had a huge display like 2 days before!
The cranberry display was replaced with a cherry display. Which is weird because cherries are a summer fruit, not a winter fruit. Anyway, I figured that would be a great compromise because the cherries are sweeter than cranberries and figured they would fit well with the pomegranates.
Turned out it was correct and the cherry pomegranate syrup I made had just the right amount of sweetness to change the flavor of the champagne but not overwhelmingly sweet to make it taste like a glass full of sugar (like some of those wines out on the market…).
Though if you like a more sweet cocktail, then just add more sugar.
So this new year, change up your boring champagne and make a batch of these cherry pomegranate champagne cocktails to toast with the ball drops!
Cherry Pomegranate Champagne
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh cherries
- 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 bottle champagne
Instructions
- In a small pot, over medium-high heat, combine cherries, pomegranate juice, water, and sugar. Mash the cherries with a fork and stir to incorporate into juice mixture.
- Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until sauce is reduced and thicker.
- Strain mixture through mesh strainer to remove all chunks and place in fridge to cool completely.
- When syrup is cooled, pour about 2 Tbsp. into bottom of champagne flute and top with champagne.
- Serve immediately garnished with additional pomegranate seeds, if desired.