More From Lady Pilsner on Walnut Liqueur

My sister sent me an unusual contra-band present this year for xmas. It was a very mysterious unlabeled glass bottle full of inky liquid wrapped entirely in clear packing tape to prevent spillage in its 1500 mile journey from central Europe to the States. There was a small handwritten note explaining that this was nocino, or walnut liqueur, and that baby Jesus wanted us to have some. We figured that if baby Jesus wanted us to have it we better damn' well try some. After examining it for a good long while, shaking it, sniffing it, and staring at it in a glass we finally got up enough courage to try it. It was earthy, nutty, sweet, spicy and mmm mmm good! Perfect for the holidays. We also tried it in coffee and hot chocolate with favorable results. So now, my sis, the L o' P, has been good enough to share with us how nocino is made...

I had almost forgotten about Nocino or, in Czech, Orechovka or in plain English, walnut liqueur. My friend (also American, also here in E. Bohemia but with years in Italy behind her) reminded me of it when I was at her house last week, but I forgot about it until today, a good 2+ weeks late. The trick to Nocino is to catch the walnuts when they are still soft enough to eat after being saturated for 2 months in alcohol. Warning! This is not a treat for the faint of heart! I wasn't able to manage perfect timing this year, but I'm sure the Nocino will be fine, though I'm trying to forget this image I have of me gnawing away on those boozy nuts amidst Christmas festivities....



Nocino
1.5 L vodka or slivovice (plum brandy) in my case
30 green walnuts – ideally picked at the end of June – between the 24th and 25th to be precise
2 cinnamon sticks
10 cloves
the cut up rind of one lemon in strips
3 cups of sugar
Quarter the nuts and mix them in a mason jar with all the remaining ingredients. Place the mason jar in a warm place and let sit for 2 months. Filter and bottle. Age for 6 months in a cool dark place.
The Czech recipe I found is surprisingly similar – they substitute “5 circles of orange rind in sugar” for the lemon rind and halve the amount of cloves and cinnamon. As to the taste – maybe Ms. Chops can describe it better (she got a bottle for Christmas last year ) – it is definitely not a walnut liqueur on the lines of amaretto. The liqueur is strong and (as I recall) somewhat herbal, and there's definitely bitter mixed in with the sweet. Right now, two days in, my nocino is this inky green tourmaline color, but it turns nearly black with time.
I can't say last year's batch made it past Christmas, so much for the aging 6 months. By its rate of disappearance, it seemed that last year's batch – my first – was a success. I think the toughest customer was a friend's father (and a court psychiatrist at that) who is a strict follower of the Czech/Moravian cult of slivovice. The look of disdain on his face when offered this walnut liqueur was daunting, but after being assured that it was no weak girly drink and was indeed based on slivovice, he managed to down a good couple shots of the stuff.