Make this at Home: THE dec’s Pomegranate Picnic Cocktail

Soon after entering the post-college world, I started wondering how to host people at my apartment without using a giant Gatorade cooler full of jungle juice to entice them. As it turns out, a Pomegranate Picnic Cocktail based on the one served at Chicago’s THE dec was the key all along. 

I consulted my older and wiser friends, who told me having a “signature drink” at a party was apparently a thing. But while I’m past ordering a rail gin and tonic at a bar, I’ve been much slower to adapt in the home-mixology department. Until recently, my interpretation of a signature drink was a 16 oz. can of sugar-free Red Bull and leftover vodka from a Dasani bottle.

After more than three years of denial, I’m finally coming around to the whole adult-drinking-at-home idea. The key? Always having a few reliable base spirits to rotate based on seasonality and occasion. This time of year, I’m all about outdoor dining and drinking, and I recently got ahold of a recipe that pairs perfectly with both.

THE dec, which opened last summer on the roof of the Ritz Carlton last year, boasts stunning patio views and a vibe most Chicagoans would give an arm and a leg to call home. But one of THE dec’s best assets is the Pomegranate Picnic, a vodka and Contreau-based drink with pom-blueberry juice and dashes of lemon juice and sparking rosé.

THE dec’s General Manager, John Gurgone, told us of the drink: “The Pomegranate Picnic was a perfect addition to [our] cocktail menu. It offers a refreshing combination of flavors with the rosé cava providing a flawless finishing touch, leaving your taste buds wanting one more sip.”

We couldn’t agree more.