Pear Up

• 1oz / 30ml pear balsamic shrub (recipe below)
• 1oz / 30ml pear liqueur (Mathilde Poire)
• 1oz / 30ml vodka (Ketel One)
• Seltzer

Combine the first 3 ingredients and shake with ice to combine and chill. Pour into a highball glass over an ice spear. Top with seltzer.

Pear Balsamic Shrub

Peel and rough chop ~2lbs / ~1kg of Bartlett pears. Puree in a Vitamix or other blender. Pour mixture into double-layered cheesecloth and suspend over a bowl or jar overnight. Yield should be ~6oz / ~180ml of juice.

The next day, measure out white sugar, weighing in grams equal to the number of ml of strained juice you have. Add the strained pear juice to a small saucepan with 2 cinnamon sticks, one vanilla bean (halved and spread open), and the white sugar. Heat until boiling then cover and lower to a simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, cool, and strain.

Measure half of the original pear juice volume (~90ml) of apple cider vinegar and the same volume (another ~90ml) of white balsamic vinegar. Add both to the cooled pear/sugar mixture and stir or shake well to combine. The shrub should keep in the refrigerator for a month or more (if you can keep yourself from drinking it for that long).