Blood Orange Grenadine

Blood Orange Grenadine

1 teaspoon allspice

2 star anise

4 ounces brandy

24 ounces of blood orange juice 

sugar

Smash spices and toast in a skillet over medium heat until fragrant, remove from heat. Add brandy (if you didn't remove the skillet from the heat, I hope the fireball didn't take off your eyebrows!). 

Add blood orange juice, stir in sugar to make a thick syrup. Continue to stir until all sugar "grit" is gone. Strain through a medium strainer.

Notes:

• Don't add the brandy to the hot pan, it is exciting, but dangerous.
• There's no hard and fast quantity of sugar, but a volume equivalent to the blood orange juice should be close. The grenadine should be thick--like maple syrup. It should not be gritty, and it is not cooked. Cooking blood orange juice (and many other fruit juices) significantly changes their flavor. To my taste, they are diminished and simpler, lacking in the bright fresh notes common to freshly squeezed juice.