Pomegranate Mimosa

This pomegranate mimosa couldn’t be more festive! Bright red pomegranate pairs with orange and sparkling wine for the ultimate bubbly drink.

When it comes to festive cocktails…well, this one might take the cake. Try this Pomegranate Mimosa! The combination of sweet tart pomegranate, orange perfume and airy bubbles is one of the most satisfying in our list of 200+ cocktail recipes. In fact, we think it should be called a Pomegranate Champagne Cocktail or Pomegranate Prosecco Sparkler…so you can drink it in the evening too. This one is great for any time, and especially festive for the colder months when pomegranate is in season. Here’s how to make it!

What’s in a pomegranate mimosa?

The mimosa is one of the most popular classic cocktails there is: a simple mix of orange juice and champagne. It’s actually on the list of International Bartender Association’s IBA official cocktails, meaning it has an “official” definition. The pomegranate mimosa is a spin where we went off script, pairing tart red pomegranate juice with Aperol and sparkling wine. Here’s what you’ll need for this easy drink:

• 100% pomegranate juice: Use bottled juice or fresh squeezed (see below)
• Aperol (or orange juice): The orange perfume of this Italian bitter is the perfect match! Use orange juice if you don’t have Aperol
• Sparkling wine: use champagne, Prosecco, or your favorite sparkling wine

Use 100% bottled pomegranate juice or make homemade

You can make a pomegranate mimosa with bottled juice, or fresh squeeze it yourself! It’s actually very easy to make fresh squeezed juice, though it takes several minutes to do. It results in a juice that’s brighter in color and a bit sweeter in flavor! You’ll need about 2 medium pomegranates to get 1 cup of pomegranate juice. But you can use bottled juice too! It’s more convenient and easy for entertaining. Keep the following in mind when you shop:

• Buy bottled 100% pomegranate juice. Some pomegranate juice is sweetened: look for the kind marked 100% juice.
• Make the juice with 2 pomegranates. You’ll cut and seed the pomegranate, then place the seeds in a jar and smash them with a cocktail muddler or potato masher. Strain it out and you’re good to go! Go to How to Make Pomegranate Juice.

About Aperol, and a substitute

Alex had the idea to use Aperol in this pomegranate mimosa, and it makes the drink! Here’s a little bit more about it and what you can use as a substitute:

• Aperol is an Italian bitter aperitif with a bright orange color and lightly sweet, citrusy flavor. It was invented in 1919, and it was later bought by the Campari company in the 1990’s. Aperol is best known for the Aperol spritz.
• What does Aperol taste like? It tastes lightly sweet, bitter, and balanced, with notes of herbs and citrus. Its light flavor is much more approachable than bitter Campari, the most popular Italian aperitif, which can be polarizing.
• What can you substitute for Aperol in this mimosa? Go with fresh squeezed orange juice! It’s not the same, but it’s equally delicious.

Sparkling wines to use

Lastly, you can use any type of sparkling wine for this pomegranate mimosa! Champagne is the classic, but we love our mimosa with Prosecco. It’s slightly sweeter and tends to be a tad cheaper, too. Here’s a breakdown of a few regional sparkling wines (or see Prosecco vs Champagne):

• Champagne: French sparkling wine. It tastes bubbly and fruity, with undertones of almond and orange. It’s typically the most expensive sparkling wine.
• Prosecco: Italian sparkling wine. It’s a little sweeter than champagne and has lighter bubbles. It’s fruity and flowery, with notes of apple, pear and lemon.
• Cava: Spanish sparkling wine. It has more citrus notes, and is a little more savory and less fruity.

Making a pomegranate mimosa: add the sparkling wine last

There are a few schools of thought when it comes to the order of ingredients in a mimosa! In our classic mimosa we add the sparkling wine first: this avoids overfilling the glass with out of control champagne bubbles. But for the pomegranate mimosa, we like adding the champagne last. Not sure about you, but we like the fizzy bubbles that makes the drink look ultra festive.

Tip: Adding garnishes makes for a more bubbly drink, because the sparkling wine creates bubbles against anything inside the glass.

More types of mimosas

If you’re as big of a mimosa fan as we are, you’ll want a mimosa for every season! We’ve got you covered. Here are our top variations:

• Classic: try our Best Mimosa (with Prosecco)!
• Peach: with peach puree it becomes the Bellini
• Mango: with mango puree it becomes the Mango Mimosa
• Apple cider: sip on an Apple Cider Mimosa
• Cranberry: try a Cranberry Mimosa or Poinsettia (holiday variation)
• Pineapple: this Pineapple Mimosa has a frothy coconut layer
• Strawberry: this Strawberry Mimosa features a puree of fresh berries
• Virgin: with ginger ale it’s a Non Alcoholic Mimosa

When to serve this pomegranate mimosa

This pomegranate mimosa is brilliant red and sparkling! It’s great for serving as a:

• Brunch drink
• Fall cocktail or winter cocktail
• Holiday drink or Christmas cocktail
• Dinner party drink (just call it a Pomegranate Prosecco cocktail!)
• Happy hour drink

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