Green Walnut Liquor

Sweetened spirits with various flavors

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MichiganCornhusker
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Re: Green Walnut Liquor

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

:thumbup:
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Tummydoc
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Re: Green Walnut Liquor

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Traditionally you harvest for nocino on june 24th (feast of John the Baptist). I checked my black walnut tree yesterday. Fruit is the size of a green olive right now. In 2 weeks they should be the size of a small lime and ready to go. I started a maceration in April from some i quartered, vacuum sealed, and the froze last season. Amazing how this matures from medicinal at 1 month to awesome at 6 months.
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Re: Green Walnut Liquor

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Tummydoc wrote: Fri Jun 12, 2020 5:56 am Traditionally you harvest for nocino on june 24th (feast of John the Baptist). I checked my black walnut tree yesterday. Fruit is the size of a green olive right now. In 2 weeks they should be the size of a small lime and ready to go. I started a maceration in April from some i quartered, vacuum sealed, and the froze last season. Amazing how this matures from medicinal at 1 month to awesome at 6 months.
+1 to the maturation over time changing/improving the spirit. My batch from last year was a lot better after 6 months.

Thanks for the date reference for traditional nocino. Last year I think I was 3 weeks late and this year I plan to go out earlier for the harvest, likely a week before the 24th. Last year I made note of shell thickness, and I will be interested in how the meat and shell look different this time with younger nuts. The way I see timing of the harvest is that with climate change, our trees and plants reach developmental stages at least a week earlier, if not two weeks. If I want the same spirit experience (not the religious part) I should pick around the 10th to 17th. I’m going to visit the tree this weekend to see if they are ready. (I know, I am overthinking this.)

I will also be freezing what I pick. I’m out of neutral now but don’t want to wait a hole year for my next batch. Glad to know you have had success with that too.

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MichiganCornhusker
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Re: Green Walnut Liquor

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

Maybe it's just around here, but it seems like slim pickins for walnuts this year.
I was only able to reach 11 walnuts without a bunch of work, but that makes a batch!
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Re: Green Walnut Liquor

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I still have 2 bottles from last years harvest. The smell is fantastic.
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Corn Crib
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Re: Green Walnut Liquor

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MCH same here, not a very good year for black walnuts, the late freeze this spring really did them in, same with morel mushrooms.


Looks like I'll be trying this next summer as my walnuts are the size of bantam chicken eggs. Not even round.
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Re: Green Walnut Liquor

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No walnuts for me either, here in Appalachia. The apple trees don't look much better either.
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Re: Green Walnut Liquor

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Not a lot of extreme weather here in the US PNW and the walnut tree I go to has a typical amount of nuts. (Except the owner cut out the lower branches so The nuts were much harder to reach.)
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MichiganCornhusker
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Re: Green Walnut Liquor

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

Corn Crib wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 5:38 ammy walnuts are the size of bantam chicken eggs. Not even round.
That sounds right to me, that's the right time to use them. Wait much longer and the shell of the nut starts to harden and the nut will less juicy.

I noticed in the recipe Otis posted from the book they call for lemon peel. I added some citrus zest the first time I made this and I really missed in in the batches I did after. I've gone back to adding some zest, not the whole peel though. And I've cut back on the sugar, using about half of the Dio Palinka recipe amount. I'm also using 1/2 a cinnamon stick and adding some nutmeg micro-planed from a whole nutmeg.
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Re: Green Walnut Liquor

Post by seamusm53 »

I made about 5 gallons four something years ago and still have over half. I love it neat or over a little ice. No one liked it over ice cream. It is definitely an acquired taste. But it has seriously improved over time.
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Re: Green Walnut Liquor

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Forgive me if I didn’t find a previous post describing it, but what is the history/ regionality of this? I can’t fathom a tasty drink as I bitterly remember picking up walnuts as a kid. I think my hands are still a couple shades darker than they should be...
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Re: Green Walnut Liquor

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Hambone wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 5:43 pm Forgive me if I didn’t find a previous post describing it, but what is the history/ regionality of this? I can’t fathom a tasty drink as I bitterly remember picking up walnuts as a kid. I think my hands are still a couple shades darker than they should be...
According to Wikipedia, it comes originally from Britain during the Roman’s hayday. More history here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocino

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Re: Green Walnut Liquor

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https://www.lifeinabruzzo.com/magical-n ... t-liqueur/

Italian liqueur, but Wikipedia says the Romans got the recipe from the Brits.
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Re: Green Walnut Liquor

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Sounds unique for certain. Is there anything remotely like it? I have scads of walnut trees, and I guess now is the time. But good God....sounds gruesome.
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Re: Green Walnut Liquor

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I harvested my black walnuts today (a week late, but the weather has been cool). I've got 4 liters macerating since April. The ones I just harvested I will quarter, vacuum pack, and freeze. My family loves Nocino, it's my most often requested spirit. Its different for sure, tastes horridly medicinal and bitter for the first 2-3 months, but then that disappears. Its a sipper, more like a cordial.
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Re: Green Walnut Liquor

Post by Grappa-Gringo »

I made this Nocino in the early summer with some neutral that I had in the cellar from a few years ago. My son's friends dad has a huge tree and they were ready for the picking... I've got an old Italian recipe book stays its have to collect them when they are still green and soft. Traditionally, this would be done on June 24, the feast of St. John the Baptist. The book I have says collect 39 of them - not 40 or 38....39! Cut them into quarters and fill a container with them. Add various herbs/spices (look up the recipe on the net as every family has a tweaked recipe) I added enough neutral to cover the nuts. Let it sit for 40 days... not 39 not 41 lol... Personally, I let it sit till Christmas time. Add simple syrup to taste afterwards...like I said... every family has their own magic.... Great sipping during the holidays.
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Re: Green Walnut Liquor

Post by Bee »

Picked some black walnuts while they were still soft the first week of July (Zone 6), quartered them and macerated in some 110 proof vodka I bought. Now I'm straining the 750ml, looks like it is going to be 36 hours to drip through a coffee filter. I'm surprised how little the walnuts soaked up, maybe 150ml.

Since I started with 110, I'm going to skip the water and just add granulated sugar to it. Hopefully it will be ready for Christmas.

ETA: Turns out the amount of liquid soaked up by the walnuts was perfect for allowing me to fit 160grams of sugar in the bottle too.
Last edited by Bee on Sun Nov 29, 2020 11:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Green Walnut Liquor

Post by Grappa-Gringo »

here's a few photos of my Nocino.... green walnut liquor in the different phases
IMG_0704 (002).jpg
IMG_0712 (002).jpg
They say, "you are what you eat"... Then I'm fast, easy and cheap!
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