DIY: Pomegranate Martini

Posted by Kelly

I've been through many drink phases over the years. Starting with margaritas, then a college phase of bad mixed drinks, then lemon drops, then greyhounds, and now...Pomegranate Martinis. I made them for Thanksgiving and I'm ready to make them again at Christmas (I may have even made them tonight...there's just no wrong time to make them.)

What You'll Need:
- Vodka
- Triple Sec
- Pure Pomegranate Juice (not pomegranate juice cocktail)
- Fresh Lemon Juice (lime juice works also)
- Sugar
- Pomegranate Seeds

Step 1: Juice lemons.

Step 2: Sugar rim your martini glasses.

Step 3: Combine 1.5 oz vodka, 1 oz triple sec, 1 oz pomegranate juice, and .5 oz fresh lemon juice in martini shaker. (Double to make cocktails for 2.) 

Step 4: Shake.

Step 5: Pour into your sugar rimmed martini glass and garnish with pomegranate seeds. 

DIY Happy Hour: Greyhounds

Posted by Kelly

If you ever need a simple drink that people will love, Greyhounds are an easy go-to. At UP the roomies and I would make these every Thursday night before the T-Room. You'll be surprised how little you taste the vodka! (This was necessary as we needed to give ourselves a bit of a liquor jacket before walking in the cold)

When we have friends over, I usually take that opportunity to make this DIY. They are always a hit! I have always made them individually, but this time to save time and effort I made a pitcher. Definitely do this if you plan on making a lot of them or you want to get the mess out of the way at the beginning of the night!

What You'll Need:
- citrus vodka (I normally buy Burnetts - cheap and tastes the same - but they were out)
- grapefruits (these were on sale, you don't need this many!)
- tonic (diet or regular)
- juicer (I love my Cuisinart, and it's only $29.99)
- ice
- straws

I was so excited at the store (and also a little drunk from happy hour) that I got ALL of those grapefruits for less than $3 I took a picture of that too!

Step 1: Juice the grapefruits


If I have learned anything over the last 5 years of drink-making it is that fresh squeezed juice makes all this difference. Don't try to get store bought juice and expect it to taste as good as fresh-squeezed. It won't.

Put a glass or bowl under the grapefruits to capture the juice. Cut your grapefruit in half, take one half and push it down on your juicer. Easy squeezy!

I LOVE that pint glass measuring cup. There are drink recipes around the side and ounce measurements up the side.  Perfect for measuring out large quantities or multiple drinks.

Step 2: Combine grapefruit juice, tonic, and vodka in pitcher


When I make these individually I put about:
- 2 - 2.5 oz vodka
- 2 - 3 oz grapefruit juice
- a little tonic on top

It is amazing how with almost equal parts vodka and grapefruit juice they taste DELISH.

In this case, since I was making a pitcher I put about:
- 16 oz vodka (could have just poured in the whole fifth)
- 20 oz grapefruit juice
- 8 oz tonic.

Step 3: Serve in glass with ice and straw

I add ice in the glass so it doesn't melt and water down the drink in the pitcher. And of course a straw is a must have!

ENJOY!!