Thursday, August 25, 2016

Eat your drink: Vanilla-Infused Calisaya and Pomegranate

Got some time on your hands? Here is a culinary cocktail that is worth the wait. For this fun edible drink you’ll need two months, two hours, and two minutes of prep time to turn out a delicious happy hour drink. Patience, Grasshopper.


Step 1: Infuse a bottle of Calisaya with Tahitian Vanilla beans for a month. Simply split two vanilla beans lengthwise and drop them into the bottle and wait a month. You don’t even need to remove the vanilla beans from the Calisaya, just store the bottle in a cool, dry place.

Step 2: Pour the infused Calisaya over a glassful of pomegranate seeds, let sit for two hours. Here a great video on how to get those gorgeous pomegranate seeds out easily.

Step 3: Eat your drink!

Never heard of Calisaya? Me neither. Turns out the herbal liqueur is making a comeback in the cocktail world. Cinchona calisaya, a Peruvian shrub, found its way to Rome via missionaries in 1632. The Italians added it along with other barks, roots, and flowers to grain neutral spirit and seville orange extract to create the popular liqueur. After Prohibition, the classic Italian amaro disappeared from the U.S. market until Italian brothers Andrea and Mario Loreto started producing it in Oregon under the name Calisaya. Think Grand Marnier meets Nonino Amaro.


You can thank Los Angeles bartender extraordinaire (and one of our amazing customers!) Matthew Biancaniello for this delicious concoction. Get his fascinating and beautifully photographed new book “Eat your Drink, Culinary Cocktails” for more creative drink recipes. 

But wait, there’s more! 
Sample one of Matthew’s cocktails made with Vanilla From Tahiti at Omnivore Books in San Francisco August 8 where he will be signing books. While you’re there, the first 45 people will receive a free gift bag containing a Tahitian vanilla bean and more. 

Bake With Love. Vanilla From Tahiti.