But that is not what this post is about. This post is about something better. It is about Walnut Brandy or - as it is called in Hungary: "Dio Palinka".
When my stew was ready, I had my neighbour, a 79 year old Hungarian former professor in electrotechnology, taste some. He liked it. I threw in some apple pie and Limoncello, and he liked that too. It turned out he had done a lot of home distilling himself. Peaches brandywine, plume brandy. All kinds of fruit brandies, actually. And a fruit brandy in Hungarian is "palinka".
He told me about fermentation, he told me about cuts. He even told me he had an old potstill somewhere on the first floor. And he told me his best "palinka" was actually Dio Palinka or Walnut Brandy.
So I asked him ... "how much sugar is in wallnuts?" And he told me there ain't much. The wallnuts are used to flavour a brandy. Often it is made when the pulp got burned. That makes the palinka (as a fruit brandy) less tasty. But with the flavouring of the walnuts, you don't smell or taste that anymore.Anhyow, next thing I know, Jáncsi Bácsi (Uncle John?) walks back to his house, only to come back with a bottle of home made walnut brandy. Dark, allmost black in colour. Over 60% strong (he tripple distilled the base likker). Sweet, tasty, no hind of heads or tails. No hind of it being 60% either. Very smooth, very nice.
I decided I really wanted to know more about this recipe and we agreed I would visit him the next day. He told me a thing or two. I then did some research at the family in law, and this is what I come up with.
Dió Pálinka / Walnut Brandy
Even though this recipe is originally made from a grappa brandywine, no taste of that base drink remains. That means this drink can be made from a (close to) neutral as well, and that will be my starting point. Another change I made, is that I lowered the ABV. The original drank I had was over 60%. Most Hungarians like their housemade palinka's at around (or slightly above) 50%.
Ingredients for 1.5 liters of walnut brandy (scalable):
Green walnuts (12), sliced
Cloves (6)
Cinnamon stick (1)
White granulated sugar (250 grams = 1 cup)
Water (half a liter = 2 cups)
Neutral of 75% (1 liter = 1/4th of a galon)
Method:
Cook the green walnuts, cloves, cinnamon and sugar in the 0.5 liter of water for just a minute.
Let it cool.
Poor everything into a 1.5 liter (or 2 liter) bottle.
Add the 1 liter of 75% neutral and mix well.
Close the bottle and let it sit at room temp for 2 weeks.
Filter the contents thru a coffee filter.
You now have 1.5 liter of 50% Walnut Brandy. Enjoy!
I will look around for green walnuts. Not sure I can find them over here. If any of you can find them, please go ahead and try this recipe. And please let me know if you like it!
Regards, Odin.