Pomegranate infused vodka is an inexpensive, tasty, and easy gift to make at home. Share a bottle as a hostess present or keep it and add it to festive cocktails at home.

I want to share something warm and fuzzy with you all today. No, it isn’t just this pomegranate infused vodka, even though that does make you feel warm and fuzzy. I want to share with you one of my favorite things about the holidays, in particular Christmas.

When my siblings and I were younger, every Christmas Eve we would go over to my Grandma’s house. Our family would eat dinner with her. Then my Grandma would bring out dessert. It was always some sort of raisin cookie, Hawaiian salad (my favorite), and some sort of Jell-O mold. My brothers and I would scarf down our desserts, ask to be excused, and then run off to the other room to cause trouble while our parents and Grandma finished tea or coffee.

We would then go back home and pretend to sleep while we waited up for signs of Santa. We would lay in bed until 4 or 5 in the morning then sneak downstairs and check out the loot. We would be so quiet as to not wake our parents. My parents made a rule that nobody could wake them up until 6am (at the earliest).

At 6am, my Mom would come down in her robe with her hair in disarray, my dad slowly following after her. Dad would bust out the camera and start recording us opening our presents. After we had quickly torn through all our presents, we played with them while my Mom bustled around getting Christmas dinner together. All of our family would come over for dinner, we would open more presents, make a fire in the fireplace, watch movies, play with the toys, eat after dinner snacks, and then everybody would leave. My dad would leave to drive my Grandma home, and then Christmas was over.

The older we got, the later we slept in on Christmas morning and the less and less we believed in the magic of Christmas. Next thing you know, I was married and having to juggle two families during the holiday season.

It wasn’t until I was older when I started to cherish those small moments. The quiet excitement of going to wake my brothers up so we could sneak downstairs and look with wide eyes at the beautifully wrapped presents. My Dad’s faked surprise on the videotapes from Christmases passed. Or the time after everybody went home when my mom and I would stand around snacking on leftovers right out of the serving dishes (maybe where I developed my standing and snacking habit).

As we got older we all had to start new traditions, which is understandable. Christmas is still my favorite holiday with my family. We may not believe in Santa anymore, but we all, thanks to our parents, believe in family.

The best times spent with my family during the holidays is now spent mulling around the kitchen, annoying my mom, taking in all the great food smells, and making and sharing cocktails and snacks before the big dinner. Last year I made this cranberry infused vodka to share. Apparently, it wasn’t up to snuff with my Mom’s expert palate. But I mean, isn’t the holidays also about family honesty? Right?

So this year, I made it my goal to make something different with more flavor than last year’s concoction. I made this excellent, tart pomegranate infused vodka. It smells amazing, tastes so tart just like a pomegranate, and is red! Perfect for the holidays! At least I think so; we will see what my mom has to say!

Pomegranate Infused Vodka (a great holiday gift)

Yield: 3 cups

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Infuse Time: 7 days

Total Time: 7 days 10 minutes

Pomegranate infused vodka is easy to make and such a pretty gift to give for the holidays.

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Ingredients

• 1 Cup Fresh Pomegranate Seeds
• 3 Cups Vodka
• 1 Strip of Lemon Zest
• A glass jar or bottle with an air-tight lid

Instructions

1. Cut a pomegranate into fourths. Fill a large bowl with water. While holding the pomegranate quarter under water, start to pull out all the seeds. All of the seeds will sink to the bottom while all the other stuff will float. Separate the seeds completely from all the white membrane. Sift off and discard any floating matter and empty the water from the bowl.
2. Portion out a cup of pomegranate seeds. Place them along with the long sliver of lemon zest in the bottom of a glass jar/container. Pour the vodka over the seeds and zest. Let sit in a dark cool place for a week, shaking every now and then. After a week, vodka is fully infused and ready to be served.
3. Serve with a wedge of lime, some honey/sugar, and ginger beer/ale or soda water.