Grenadine

One US cup of grenadine weighs between 280 and 320 grams, depending on how the cup is filled and which source measured it. That range is the answer; a single number would not be. Every figure behind it is below, with the method each source used.

Also called grenadine, grenadine syrup, pomegranate grenadine, real grenadine, cocktail grenadine, sirop de grenadine.

TL;DR: 280-320 g/cup (1.18-1.35 g/mL). Two fundamentally different product families are both sold under the "grenadine" name: HFCS-based commercial cocktail mixers (Rose's, Torani, Finest Call — approximately 320 g/cup, 66-67% sugar) and real-fruit artisan syrups (Small Hand Foods, Jack Rudy, Liber & Co — approximately 280 g/cup, less concentrated with actual pomegranate). The name comes from grenade, French for pomegranate, but most retail bottles contain no pomegranate at all.

Grenadine is the red syrup that gives the Shirley Temple its color and the Tequila Sunrise its bottom stripe. Historically it was a pomegranate syrup — the French name grenade means pomegranate — used across Middle Eastern and Mediterranean beverages and adopted by early American bartenders in the 19th century. Today the category has bifurcated into two product families whose only shared features are red color and cocktail application: commercial HFCS-based mixers dominant on grocery shelves, and real-fruit artisan syrups sold through specialty spirits shops.

The commercial family, defined by Rose's Grenadine, lists high-fructose corn syrup as the first ingredient followed by water, citric acid, sodium citrate, sodium benzoate, Red #40, Blue #1, and natural and artificial flavors — no pomegranate at all. Torani, Finest Call, Daily's, and most bar-well grenadines follow the same formulation. Density data comes primarily from USDA's generic grenadine syrup reference at 320 g/cup or 1.353 g/mL, corresponding to a concentrated 66-67% sugar solution (149 g sugar in a 320 g cup). Rose's own product label lists 2 tablespoons = 30 mL = 80 kcal with 20 g sugar; matched to the USDA density, 30 mL is roughly 40 g, giving the same 320 g/cup. The label's ambiguity between "30 mL" as volume and "30 g" as weight is common for beverage-mixer packaging.

The real-fruit family emerged in the mid-2000s as cocktail culture reclaimed the ingredient. Small Hand Foods (founded 2008 by San Francisco bartender Jennifer Colliau, now the reference brand for cocktail-quality grenadine) makes theirs from just pomegranate juice, pomegranate molasses, and organic cane sugar — no water, no acids, no dyes. Jack Rudy Cocktail Co uses pomegranate, water, cane sugar, orange flower water, and citric acid. Liber & Co Real Grenadine (California San Joaquin Valley pomegranates plus cane sugar plus orange flower water) publishes 0.5 oz (15 mL) = 34 kcal with 9 g total carbs, extrapolating to roughly 60% sugar and 280-290 g/cup at approximately 1.20 g/mL — noticeably less concentrated than the HFCS commercial products because pomegranate juice contributes water alongside its natural sugars.

Within the syrup density framework, HFCS grenadine at 320 g/cup joins the S16 320 cluster alongside cane syrup, date syrup, pomegranate molasses, and maple cream — all plant-derived or plant-imitating syrups at 65-70% solids. Real-fruit grenadines sit just below this cluster at 280-300 g/cup due to their higher water content from included juice. Neither type reaches the 336 g/cup cluster (honey, agave, barley malt syrup, golden syrup, sorghum syrup) since grenadine is intentionally diluted for cocktail-mixer application rather than concentrated to maximum sugar saturation.

Several disambiguations matter for search intent. Grenadine is not pomegranate molasses — pomegranate molasses (already in this database at 320 g/cup) is reduced pomegranate juice with no added sugar, tart-forward and used in Middle Eastern savory cooking rather than sweetened cocktails. Grenadine is not pomegranate syrup, which is a less standardized real-fruit product without the cocktail-mixer branding. And any product labeled simply "grenadine" without a specific fruit-based ingredient claim is almost certainly the HFCS commercial version.

For cocktail work, real-fruit grenadines substitute 1:1 by volume for HFCS commercial products in classic recipes (Jack Rose, Ward Eight, Shirley Temple) with dramatically better flavor — a Small Hand Foods Shirley Temple is genuinely juicy where a Rose's Shirley Temple is essentially colored sugar water. The 1:1 volume substitution works despite the roughly 15% weight difference because cocktails are balanced by volume ratio, not by sugar mass. For baking (Persian-style pomegranate desserts, pomegranate glazes), the more concentrated commercial grenadine delivers more color per teaspoon but the real-fruit version contributes actual pomegranate flavor and mineral character that shifts the finished dish meaningfully.