This pomegranate tequila recipe is made with delicious pomegranate concentrate which gives tremendous fruity flavor and smoothness to your favorite tequila. Find more of my pomegranate recipes.
I love giving homemade gifts to friends and family for birthdays, holidays and any other rhyme or reason. I started with baking, from brownie cookies to loaves of lemon olive oil cake and then rum raisin fudge.
Foodie gifts are a must when you are a food blogger, but I soon realized that many of my friends and family preferred boozy gifts. They saw my post on how to make pomegranate infused vodka and asked, “Why didn’t you give us a bottle?”
So this year, my friends are getting another boozy gift: this delicious and easy-to-make pomegranate tequila.
How to make infused pomegranate tequila
Vodka infusions are crazy easy to make. You get some fruit and soak it in vodka for several weeks. Strain out the fruit and you’re done! This is the basic technique I used for my strawberry vodka, for example.
So my husband and I used the same technique to infuse pomegranate with tequila. But, it lacked the smoothness and fruitiness that we loved in the overpriced pom tequila we found at Costco. The longer the fruit sits in the vodka or tequila, the more fruit flavor will be infused.
But we were still not happy with the flavor. Not to mention that time zoomed by between Thanksgiving and today, and frankly, we never got around to infusing our giant bottles of tequila, just our smaller experimental ones. So on to plan two.
How to make pomegranate tequila FAST
Well, a bottle (or three) of pomegranate concentrate solved our problem. After a few trials and errors (and a couple ibuprofen to take care of the hangover), the hubby and I found a great formula.
Basically 1.5 parts pomegranate concentrate for every 12 parts of your favorite tequila. The amount of pom flavor depends greatly on the brand of concentrate you buy, whether it’s POM or the ones you find at a middle-eastern grocery store. I personally prefer the Persian Sadaf brand. I have never found the POM variety so I can’t comment on that flavor.
Pomegranate concentrate is just fruit juice that is reduced down to a thick syrup. There is no sugar added to concentrate. If you add sugar, then you have homemade pomegranate molasses. If you use pomegranate molasses, your pomegranate tequila will be a little sweeter.
How to serve your pomegranate tequila
If you are making pomegranate tequila with the pomegranate concentrate, it is ready to be served right away. So pour your friends a shot, even add some pomegranate arils in the shot glass and you’ll have a real crowd pleaser with this drink!
If you are out of time and have no pomegranate concentrate, don’t fret. Throw some pomegranate arils in your small bottles of tequila or vodka, gift them to your friends with instructions to strain out the arils in 2-3 weeks. And if your friends are like my husband, enjoy those arils. They are like mini shots of booze.
How long will pomegranate tequila last?
If you are wondering the shelf life for our pomegranate tequila, let me tell you. If it is not finished quickly because it is so damn tasty, it lasts for a long time. I had a couple friends who forgot about it, since it was pushed to the back of their shelf. After 2 years, it was still smooth and delicious!
But, if you are infusing pomegranate with tequila, you have to strain out the fruit after 2-3 weeks to prolong its shelf life.
Well, the cat’s out of the bag now. All my friends reading this will be expecting a bottle this year. I think I’d prefer a bottle of pomegranate tequila with a plate of cookies ‘cuz it’s the holidays and I have barely made a dent in my holiday shopping!!
Pomegranate Tequila
If you don't have time to infuse your alcohol with fruit, here's a quicker way to add pomegranate flavor to your favorite liquor!
Ingredients
- 1 qt tequila, gold or silver
- ½ cup pomegranate concentrate
Instructions
- Combine ingredients and mix thoroughly.
- Store in bottle until ready to serve.
- Can be served as shots or used in mixed drinks.
Notes
Serving Suggestions: This works with vodka and rum, too.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
18Serving Size:
¼ cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 167Carbohydrates: 12gSugar: 9.3g
I was skeptical about combining Pomegranate and Tequila, but this new recipe has made me change my mind. I will try to make this cocktail and then write a review about it.
You are totally missing out! I hope you do try it and you can even add a shot of grand marnier to every bottle (we did that this year).
Laura
FYI, POM and pomegranate concentrate are not the same. POM is 100% juice. Pomegranate concentrate is reduced pomegranate juice, cooked down to be more concentrated, sometimes with added sugar. A syrup and not as thick as a pomegranate molasses. If you would have used POM the flavor wouldn’t be as intense. I’m gonna give this a go. I have tons of pomegranates that I plan to reduce to concentrate and found this on Pinterest.
You are correct. POM used to sell pomegranate concentrate, but I’m not sure if they do anymore. I have made pomegranate tequila with the concentrate and with infusing the pomegranate arils. Definitely different flavors and intensities. My husband and I prefer adding the concentrate. I definitely do not like most pomegranate molasses as they add too much sugar and it takes away from the wonderful pomegranate flavor. I am envious of your tons of pomegranate! You can freeze the arils, too. And I have a lot of recipes using pomegranates, so I hope you check them out!