A Romantic Pomegranate Mocktail Recipe for your Next Date Night
This sweet and tangy pomegranate mocktail recipe is layered with sophisticated ingredients worthy of an expert mixologist but this craving-worthy cocktail comes without the pitfalls of alcohol. Best of all, every ingredient in this unique, pomegranate-based drink is considered an aphrodisiac. That’s why it’s my non-alcoholic pick for date night.
Ingredients
This one couldn’t be easier. The recipe calls for just five ingredients plus a sprig of rosemary. (We’ll talk about the rosemary later, under tips.) But for the drink, you need:
- Pomegranate juice – Make sure your juice is 100% pure pomegranate, not a blend or pomegranate drink
- Agave nectar – This natural sweetener can be found in most grocery stores or health food retailers. You can also order it online.
- Fresh lemon juice
- Fresh rosemary sprig
- Seltzer – You can use club soda or sparkling water as a substitute
The ingredients in the recipe below are listed per cocktail. So remember to add up the ingredients for each drink if you’re making multiple pomegranate mocktails.
Tips for making the best sexy mocktail
The instructions for making this sparkling mocktail are not as straightforward as most drinks. Remember when I said it had the sophisticated flavors of something a mixologist would create? Well, you’re going to have to employ a little bit of fancy technique to make this drink. But don’t worry, it’s really very easy!
Using a lighter, you’re going to light the tip of the full sprig of rosemary on fire. Extinguish it immediately and while it’s still smoldering, put it on a ceramic or glass (not plastic) plate and cover it quickly with your martini glass. You’ll need to repeat this step for each mocktail. The rosemary-scented smoke will cling to the glass and give the final cocktail a surprisingly smokey edge. It’s a great way for adding an extra flavor element to a mocktail without added sugar or calories.
Equipment
In addition to the martini glasses, this cocktail requires a good shaker. I love this stainless steel shaker from Oxo. It’s durable and easy to use. You can strain drinks easily with the built-in strainer.
The other piece of equipment you need to make a great mocktail is fresh ice. If you shake your drink with ice that has an old or stale flavor, guess what it’s going to do to your drink. For this drink recipe and any cocktail recipe that calls for ice, make sure you have fresh ice ready to go.
Optional garnishes
The recipe calls for garnishing with a swath of orange peel. A swath is the rustic-looking version of a twist. To make one, you simply peel a thin layer of orange peel with a vegetable peeler. But if you know how, you can always use the more impressive twist.
Don’t have an orange? Use a twist of lemon instead.
But since you’re putting the citrus peel directly into the cocktail, make sure you wash the fruit thoroughly before you make your garnish.
Alternatively, you can garnish with fresh pomegranate arils, (that’s the proper name for individual pomegranate kernels). A little added pomegranate makes a healthy garnish with added texture. If you want to give the drink additional rosemary aromas, you can garnish with about a 2-inch piece from the tip of a rosemary sprig. Alternatively, you can just leave your cocktails naked and let the drink’s flavors speak for themselves.
Why this non-alcoholic drink is great for date night
Whether you’re avoiding alcohol for “Dry January,” stepping away from traditional cocktails for overall health and well-being or just trying to avoid getting sloppy on a date, a mocktail is a great choice for enjoying a drink with adult flavor minus the alcohol. And this relatively healthy mocktail is a particularly good choice to share on a romantic evening because it is layered with ingredients that support sexual health and may even help you get in the mood for a night of passion.
Pomegranate, including pomegranate juice, is a famous aphrodisiac and even makes our list of the 10 Best Foods For Men’s Sexual Health. But that’s not the only historically aphrodisiac ingredient in this drink. Rosemary is one of my favorite aphrodisiacs. I even featured it in my book Fork Me, Spoon Me.
Citrus makes the list of the 10 Best Foods for Women’s Sexual Health. There’s really no way to go wrong with this date night drink!
Try Next: A Hot Cherry Juice Mocktail for winter
Sexy Pomegranate Mocktails
Equipment
- Martini glasses
- Cocktail shaker
Ingredients
- 1 sprig Rosemary
- .5 oz Agave nectar
- .5 oz Lemon juice
- 2 in Tip from a rosemary sprig
- 2 oz Pomegranate juice*
- splash Seltzer substitute with club soda
- 1 in Orange swath (thin peel made with a vegetable peeler) optional
Instructions
- Using a lighter, light the rosemary on fire and immediately extinguish it. Place on a plate and cover with a martini glass. Let sit.
- Add agave, lemon, rosemary leaves and pomegranate juice to a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice and shake vigorously for 30 seconds.
- Turn over smoked martini glass and double strain contents of shaker into glass. Top with soda water or flavored seltzer. Pinch orange swatch over the glass to capture the orange essence and garnish with orange swath and rosemary, (optional).**
Notes
**See the optional garnishes section in the introduction for more garnish ideas.
A note on the provided nutrition information
The nutrition information provided has been estimated by an online nutrition calculator and is not a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Amy is considered a leading authority on aphrodisiacs. Her work in aphrodisiacs is quoted in publications including National Geographic, The New York Times, Epicurious, Wine Enthusiast, Health and Playboy magazines. She speaks internationally on aphrodisiac foods and has brought her knowledge of aphrodisiac history and science to national television shows including The Today Show and CBS Early Show. She is a frequent guest on relationship and lifestyle radio and podcast shows and has been interviewed by BBC and NPR radio, Cosmopolitan radio and popular podcasts including My Dad Wrote a Porno.
Amy is also a freelance food, wine and health researcher and writer as well as a wine competition judge. Her work has appeared in publications ranging from Variety to The Daily Meal. She is an MSN content provider. And she is also a former wine editor for Gayot.com and wine & spirits editor of Las Vegas magazine.
Fun fact: Amy was the creator of the first ever comprehensive food and wine apps, Amy Reiley's Pocket Gourmet and Amy Reiley's Pocket Vineyard for Palm.
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