Jewish holidays have a wonderful culinary reputation, and rightly so. But drinking? Not so much—unless you like Manischewitz. To remedy that, we asked DGS Delicatessen beverage director Brian Zipin for a festive Rosh Hashanah sip.
This rum-based refresher uses two fruits traditionally found in Jewish New Year festivities: apples and pomegranates. Don’t worry about deseeding the latter, which can be tricky; Pom juice serves as the base for a tasty pomegranate syrup. Zipin likes rum for holiday cocktails, as many varieties are already kosher. L’Chayim!
The Honeymooner
Makes 1 cocktail
1¾ ounces Appleton Estate V/X Rum
1½ ounces organic apple juice
1½ ounces pomegranate syrup (see recipe below)
½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 drops Fee Brothers rhubarb bitters
Optional: lemon wheel to garnish
Shake all ingredients and serve over ice in a wine glass. Garnish with a lemon wheel.
Pomegranate syrup
Makes 2 cups
2 cups pomegranate juice, such as Pom brand
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon pomegranate molasses, found in Middle Eastern groceries and some Whole Foods
½ teaspoon orange flower water, found in Middle Eastern groceries and specialty shops like Dean & Deluca
Heat juice slightly over medium, just enough to allow other ingredients to dissolve easily. Stir in remaining ingredients, allow to cool, bottle, and refrigerate. The syrup keeps for two weeks.
Find Anna Spiegel on Twitter at @annaspiegs.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
