vip in the city

Copa del Rey 2006

Attended the Copa del Rey 2006 party, at co-sponsor Camper’s shop in SoHo to commemorate the 25th annual sailing regatta, taking place in Palma de Mallorca, July 29 through August 6, 2006. In honor of the occasion, Camper (Spain’s most popular shoe company and design sensation) debuted the IMAR Limited Edition — a nautical shoe to be released in a limited run of 500 pairs worldwide.

Platters of sea-themed hors d’oeuvres (crab cakes, tuna tartare, lobster puffs, etc.) were passed among the funky shoe displays. The signature cocktail of the evening was dubbed the “Camper Special”: vodka, orange juice and grenadine over ice. Actually, the drink’s proper name is a Bird of Paradise. The more familiar Tequila Sunrise substitutes tequila for the vodka.

Grenadine, from the French word grenade for pomegranate, is a deep ruby red syrup that was once made with a base of sugar (sometimes honey) and pomegranates. It’s popularly used in mixology to add sweetness, while importing a pretty hue to drinks (as in pink lemonade.) The Wall Street Journal last month ran an interesting article on how today’s commercial grenadines, however, are very often artificially flavored, with many brands containing almost no fruit juice at all. The most popular brand in the United States (and the brand used at this party) is Rose’s, which is made from high fructose corn syrup – not sugar – and whose color is derived from red dye #40 (with some blue dye #1) – not pomegranates – plus the catchall “natural and artificial flavors.” The article went on to compare the scent of Rose’s to cough syrup.

For true sirop de grenadine, the article recommended as an alternative Rième Boissons (made with beet sugar), Williams-Sonoma brand and Stirrings grenadines, or the Sonoma Syrup Company’s Pomegranate Simple Syrup. All are available (with some searching) in New York City’s better liquor stores and gourmet food shops.

Or there’s always the option of making your own, which, based on the recipes I’ve seen, would be a simple matter of juicing pomegranates and reducing with a simple syrup of sugar and water. Easier still (and less messy), one could use the now widely available POM-branded pomegranate juice, as the Williams-Sonoma version does.

Try it, you’ll like it.

There's 1 comment so far ... Copa del Rey 2006

Qsoz
July 24, 2006

Hey will you show me how to make the Bird of Paradise for the beach party?

Go for it ...