Recipe: Cherry-Infused Rum (Bilí)
This Puerto Rican digestif is the perfect drink for a hot day
Bilí is a popular drink from Vieques, a small island off the coast of Puerto Rico. Traditionally, it's made by fermenting rum with quenepas, a local tropical fruit. However, chef Jose Enrique expands the infusing concept with other fruits. In this one, cherries, orange peel and allspice liqueur are macerated with sugar before infusing white rum.
This is a digestif that packs a real punch. Enrique likes to keep it in the freezer to chill and then pour right into glasses, but we like to serve it over ice to dilute to power of the infused rum.
To learn more, read "Rico Suave."
Check out some of our favorite stone fruit recipes.
Recipe adapted from Jose Enrique, Jose Enrique, San Juan, PR
Cherry-Infused Rum (Bilí)
In this spin on Bilí, Jose Enrique infuses Puerto Rican rum with cherries, orange peel and allspice for a refreshing digestif.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups cherries, pitted
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1½ ounces allspice dram liqueur
- 1 orange, zested with a peeler
- One 750-milliliter bottle silver rum, preferably Don Q Cristal
- Ice, for serving
Directions
- In a large pitcher, combine the cherries, sugar, allspice liqueur and orange peels. Toss to incorporate, then let sit for 1 hour. Stir to dissolve the sugar and add the rum to the pitcher. Keep in the freezer until ice cold, then serve over ice.
Nutrition
| Calories per Serving | 310 |
| Total Fat | 0.1 g |
| Saturated Fat | 0.0 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.0 |
| Cholesterol | 0.0 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 25.2 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0.9 g |
| Total Sugars | 23.5 g |
| Sodium | 2.7 mg |
| Protein | 0.4 g |
