A day in the life of mixologist Matthew Biancaniello

Foraging for ingredients in the Malibu Hills, Biancaniello finds mustard seed and horehound, both of which will be used in cocktail creations.   (Mariah Tauger / For the Los Angeles Times)

Biancaniello grows some of his own ingredients at the Cook’s Garden in Venice.  (Mariah Tauger / For the Los Angeles Times)

Biancaniello trolls the farmers market in Santa Monica in his trademark beads and hat in search of fresh, interesting flavors.  (Mariah Tauger / For the Los Angeles Times)

Biancaniello, left, brings his twin boys and co-worker Luke Fisher with him on his Santa Monica farmers market shopping trip.   (Mariah Tauger / For the Los Angeles Times)

Biancaniello’s boys, Coleman, left, and Kai, often accompany him on shopping adventures and frequently taste test the farm-fresh ingredients, such as passion fruit.   (Mariah Tauger / For the Los Angeles Times)

Biancaniello searches for out-of-the ordinary produce, such as blood oranges, for his cocktails.   (Mariah Tauger / For the Los Angeles Times)

Herbs also enhance his cocktails and add different elements to infusions.   (Mariah Tauger / For the Los Angeles Times)

An array of cocktail ingredients fills a cupboard in Biancaniello’s Playa Vista home.  (Mariah Tauger / For the Los Angeles Times)

After a morning of shopping and foraging, Biancaniello returns home to prep the ingredients for an event where he’ll be bartending later that evening.  (Mariah Tauger / For the Los Angeles Times)

Biancaniello pours gin into a jar of wild black mustard as he prepares elements for the evening’s concoctions.  (Mariah Tauger / For the Los Angeles Times)

Biancaniello preps a box of passion fruit on the patio of his home.   (Mariah Tauger / For the Los Angeles Times)

A closer look at the passion fruit preparation.  (Mariah Tauger / For the Los Angeles Times)

Biancaniello sets up and displays the array of ingredients he’ll use to create cocktails.  (Mariah Tauger / For the Los Angeles Times)

Hired for a private event in downtown Los Angeles, Biancaniello begins preparing the ingredients he’ll use at the site. He’s a highly sought-after mixologist in L.A.  (Mariah Tauger / For the Los Angeles Times)

Biancaniello puts the finishing touches on the Roquette, an arugula and watercress gimlet with gin, garnished with mustard and cilantro flowers.   (Mariah Tauger / For the Los Angeles Times)

The Roquette, ready to be served.  (Mariah Tauger / For the Los Angeles Times)

One of Biancaniello’s cocktails is made of Japanese whiskey from hops with lavender water, water mint and Meyer lemon. The garnish is Cuban oregano.  (Mariah Tauger / For the Los Angeles Times)

Bergamot 123 tequila with Meyer lemon, wild water mint, wild ginger from a forager in Seattle with a sprig of fresh mint for garnish. Cheers!  (Mariah Tauger / For the Los Angeles Times)

During a private event, actress and model Emily Wang samples one of Biancaniello’s cocktails made of Japanese whiskey.  (Mariah Tauger / For the Los Angeles Times)