Master of Mixes Grenadine Syrup, 12.7 fl oz

Grenadine gets mistaken for cherry syrup, and the color is to blame. The name comes from grenade, the French word for pomegranate, and pomegranate is the flavor the syrup has been built around since soda fountain days. Master of Mixes makes it as part of a bar-mixer range aimed at people stocking a home bar rather than a professional one.

The practical thing about grenadine is its weight. It is denser than juice or spirits, so if you pour it slowly into a glass of orange juice it sinks to the bottom and then bleeds back upward in the red-to-gold band a tequila sunrise takes its name from. Stir it into lemon-lime soda and you have a Shirley Temple; the same drink takes a measure of liquor for adults without changing anything else.

Otherwise it is a splash of color and sweetness in sours, punches, and shaken drinks. Use it sparingly — a quarter ounce is plenty in most glasses.