Kraken’s Cavern | A Spiced Pomegranate Cocktail That’s Perfect for Fall

Kraken’s Cavern is a delicious, spiced pomegranate cocktail. It’s bright and fruity, thanks to the pomegranate juice, but has some warm complexity thanks to the spiced rum, cinnamon syrup, and ginger beer.

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I’ve been brainstorming ideas for a Halloween cocktail all week. I knew I wanted something that was going to be dark in color. There isn’t a lot of food out that is naturally super-rich in pigment. At least not rich enough for a small amount to saturate an entire cocktail. But then I thought about those dark, almost-black crimson bottles of pomegranate juice that I see at the grocery store all the time. If you’ve never had pomegranate juice, it’s uber tart and ultra-pigmented. Perfect for a Halloween cocktail.

Pears, apples, cranberries, and figs get all the attention in fall but did you know that pomegranates actually belong on the list of fall fruits, too? I didn’t until recently. As in, just now when I looked it up to see if I could justify making a fall pomegranate cocktail. Turns out they’re in season from late September into early December. Yep. Fall fruits.

If you’ve noticed a trend here on Girl & Tonic, gin is kinda my go-to spirit. I just love it so much. Each brand varies wildly from the next and it’s an extremely versatile spirit. The first time I attempted to make this Kraken’s Cavern, I used gin. And it was okay. It just… didn’t feel very fall-y. And the cinnamon simple syrup that I was so excited to use didn’t quite mesh with the gin I had chosen. I was wanting this recipe to come across much warmer… How could I warm it up?

I was already using cinnamon syrup (very warming) and ginger beer (lots of great spice & kick). Aside from actually serving the drink warm, I didn’t know what to do. Then it hit me. Spiced rum. YES. I could already imagine what it tasted like before it hit my tongue. One of my favorite go-to cocktails of all time is the Sea Monster. Unfortunately for the tastebuds of the world, it’s not a well-known drink. But I’ve been seeking to change that for a few years now.

The 4 building blocks of the Sea Monster are spiced rum, grapefruit juice, grenadine, and ginger beer. And since grenadine is a pomegranate-flavored syrup (not cherry, like many believe), I knew that the pomegranate and the spiced rum would marry wonderfully in Kraken’s Cavern. Kraken is also my favorite brand of spiced rum but any spiced rum would work well in this recipe.

This cocktail is so good y’all. It’s got some depth and complexity while remaining pretty simple. I used some Pomegranate Margarita mix in this recipe because I had a gifted bottle on hand. But you can definitely just use more pomegranate juice in its place. You may also want to add a little more cinnamon syrup, too, since the Pom Marg mix was pretty sweet. Or you know, keep it tart. That’s the beautiful thing about cocktails– they’re completely customizable. I mean, I used pomegranate margarita mix with rum. All cocktail “rules” are meant to be bent and broken.

If you’re looking for a more traditional fall cocktail, check out my Mulled White Wine, the Autumn in Tuscany, or Morgan Mends the Line. A good ol’ Rum Old Fashioned also makes for a great fall cocktail. But if you’re in the mood for a unique recipe, don’t sleep on Kraken’s Cavern. Or should I say in?

Ingredients for a Kraken’s Cavern

• 1 1/2 oz spiced rum (Use Kraken if you’ve got it!)
• 3/4 oz pomegranate juice
• 3/4 oz pomegranate margarita mixer
• 3/4 oz lemon juice
• 1/2 oz cinnamon simple syrup (here’s an easy recipe)
• 1+ oz ginger beer

How to Make a Kraken’s Cavern

Add all ingredients, except for the ginger beer, into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well, about 20 seconds. Pour into a lowball glass filled with ice. Top the glass off with the ginger beer and stir to incorporate. Add another small splash of pomegranate juice on top for spooky dramatic effect.