Blood Orange Pomegranate Screwdriver
on Oct 21, 2018, Updated Feb 29, 2024
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Not harder to make than a regular screwdriver....but oh, the color!
No one minds that there are cocktails on a blog called The Mom 100, right? Without sliding into the kids=alcohol jokes, I think it’s safe to say that most of us with kids surely do enjoy a glass of wine or a cocktail or a beer as much as the next child-free person. Possibly even a little earlier in the day (oh, see, I did dip down into kids-alcohol territory. Mea culpa).
When I was a coming of age drinker, a Screwdriver was one of the first drinks one encountered. They were easy to make (vodka and oj), they didn’t require any unusual for fancy or costly mixers, and if you had one bottle of hard liquor in your apartment, it was probably vodka.
A good friend of mine still drinks her version of screwdrivers, and not much else, though the oj is more of a splash….almost a garnish. More on that in a bit.
It’s still a very solid drink.
But say it’s a little more of a special occasion, and you’re getting all dressed up and you want your screwdriver to get all dressed up, too. This is what I was thinking when I was unpacking some beautiful blood oranges sent over to me by my pal Robert at Melissa’s, who keeps me stocked with those more unusual produce items. One you cut open a blood orange you know that you are not going to want to hide this gorgeous color by mixing it into a stew or a dip or something.
One important thing – the juice has to be fresh squeezed – this isn’t a real question most of the time, since blood orange juice is pretty hard to come by in all but the most upscale of food retail places. And you’ll probably want to check out the gorgeous pulp for yourself – it’s a little bit of a thrill when you cut into a blood orange and see the brilliant deep reddish orange-pink inside. Especially since the outside is allowing the orange to masquerade as just another juice orange, ho hum, la de da.
Seriously look at this color:
There are three things that are optional, and if you skipped all of them you would still have a wonderful drink. One is the pomegranate juice. It will deepen the color as you can see below, and add another layer of sweet, but a tiny bit tart, flavor.
The other is St. Germaine liquor, which is a liqueur that’s been very popular for along time with the cocktail crowd because of its bright slightly haunting floral flavor. A little splash is all it takes to add sophistication and intrigue to all kinds of drinks. Cocktail fans and professional mixologists rely on it often.
Thirdly, if you wanted, you could make ice cubes from additional pomegranate juice or blood orange juice which would add more sheer gorgeousness to this drink, but as you can see, this drink is not exactly wanting in the sheer gorgeousness department.
But you can stick to the basics – blood orange juice and vodka, and still have a drink worth oohing and ahing over. A sprig of fresh herbs adds prettiness and a slight herby flavor (it would add much more if you let it steep in the vodka, or muddled it in to the drink and then strained it through a cocktail shaker. Do that if you like the idea of a really herbaceous note in your drink).
This is not a strong screwdriver at all – just add more vodka if that’s what a cocktail means to you. Some people like to go for a 1:1 ratio. My friend likes to pretty much reverse the proportions of juice to vodka below. As a single mom of two teenage boys, I think she can do whatever she wants.
See, I devolved into the boozy parent jokes again. I’m clearly incorrigible.
Pomegranate juice is optional in this Blood Orange Pomegranate Screwdriver. It deepens the color and adds a layer of sweet and tart flavor.
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Blood Orange Pomegranate Screwdriver
Ingredients
- 2 ounces (¼ cup) vodka plain or mandarin or orange, chilled
- 6 ounces (¾ cup) fresh squeezed blood orange juice chilled
- 1 to 2 ounces (2 to 4 tablespoons) pomegranate juice optional, chilled
- ½ ounce (1 tablespoon) St. Germain liqueur optional
- 2 small sprigs rosemary mint, or basil
Instructions
- Fill two tall glasses with ice. Divide the vodka between the glasses. Pour in the orange juice, dividing it evenly, but leaving room to add the pomegranate juice and St. Germaine liqueur if using. Give the drink a stir.
- Add the pomegranate juice and liqueur and stir again. Garnish with a sprig of herbs. Serve cold.
Looks amazing Katie!! Right up my alley – wink wink! Totally trying this!!