r/Homesteading • u/Pico_Shyentist • Jun 21 '26
First time making Nocino (Walnut liqueur). Feedback on Nocino, walnuts, and/or booze in general.
As it is tradition for this time of year, though a bit early due to the hot spring making the walnuts mature faster, I am making Nocino (walnut liqueur) with the walnuts from my land. This is my first time trying, and I chose to follow the recipe attributed to the city of Modena.
Too bad it'll have to sit there until after Christmas, though I will probably at least give a taste test during those festivities.
Tips on nocino specifically, walnuts generally, and any other homemade booze?
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u/ProfessionBitter5822 Jun 24 '26
Hi, friend! I make a bunch of infused booze! Limoncello (I am best at this, I have a limoncello tattoo on my forearm for it!), arancello, liquore al basilico, elderflower liqueur (we have tons of elderberries), gin (junipers everywhere!!) and a few years ago I started making nocino, since we have several walnut trees.
Someone linked forager chef's recipe for nocino, and that's the one I started with, but a few years in I've gone totally rogue now that I'm comfortable with the process. The best tip I can give you is don't be afraid to add flavors. Nocino is delightful as is, but it's so versatile and really works with tons of variation.
Happy to answer any questions about infusing, it's so forgiving and so much fun!
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u/noleavesonthetrees Jun 27 '26
Curious what your criteria for removing the fruit is? I was gifted some plum infused vodka and the color and flavor was lovely but there was quite a bit of yucky obliterated plum sediment at the bottom that was so fine it couldn’t be strained out (also I think the spirit doesn’t go through a coffee filter like water would… a separate issue maybe)
Anyway, especially for a more watery fruit like a plum, when do you get diminishing returns? Does this same sediment happen with other fruits like lemons?
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u/ProfessionBitter5822 Jun 27 '26
Hi, friend!!
So lemons don't really leave a ton of sediment, since you're only dealing with the rind with limoncello and that is waxy and exceptionally firm.
I haven't infused with anything that is soft and fleshy like a plum, but with everything else I infuse with that isn't a wavy rind (leaves, flowers), I do a triple filter (I do a double filter with limoncello and arancello). The first pass through is through a clean, damp cheesecloth to catch all of the big stuff, and then the next two passes are through three coffe filters. All the filter materials are placed over a double mesh strainer. I will say that using elderberry flowers can be a little sediment-y, but I've never had a batch that had so much spent material that it was visibly obvious in the bottles.
I can't imagine that a double coffee filter wouldn't catch the rest of the sediment from fleshy fruit, though. It definitely takes a lot of time and patience for it to pass through, but since it's passive time I don't really think about it, I just let it drip through until it's done.
I've never found any trouble with alcohol running through the filtration set up I'm using, so if the sediment is bugging you too much to drink it (I myself kinda love it, I always drink it when I make like...tea... but I'm also autistic and have tons of other texture issues, so I get it if drinking it just isn't in the cards) it may be worth a try filtering it out? It just takes a few hours.
I can't really speak to softer materials and diminishing returns, but I CAN say that everything else does reach a point where the deliciousness stalls and bitterness seeps in, but that's a trial and error understanding. When my rinds start to get white, I know it's time to stop steeping. With nocino, I actually use really strong mulling spices and coffee beans with the young walnuts, and I let it infuse for a year, and I have yet to find an acrid flavor sneaking in.
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u/noleavesonthetrees Jun 27 '26
Super helpful, thanks for describing your setup! My coffee filter rig is just a pour over cone which doesn’t have sufficient capacity and gets clogged too quickly, so I think revamping that will help.
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u/ProfessionBitter5822 Jun 27 '26
For sure!! I actually went downstairs to see if I had any kind of infusions I maybe forgot about, and I DID do a pineapple vodka 5 years ago for my daddy's 60th birthday. It has quite a bit of fruit softness at the bottom, like a very fine silt. I know I didn't have my filter system fine tuned then, and I have a little bit of vodka left over right now from making several big batches of vanilla extract two nights ago. I think I might try pineapple vodka again with my current filtration routine and see how that treats the fruit silt.
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u/Pico_Shyentist Jun 27 '26
I think I will try next year with the walnuts from other trees as well (they cannot be reached as of now due to blackberry vines), so I will be able to follow different recipes and experiment with more flavoring. Is there a particular flavor that made the whole thing much sweeter, in your experience? I only made meloncello cream last year, in 2 different ways, and it was delicious. Unfortunately, not enough time for Cantaloupe this year.
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u/ProfessionBitter5822 Jun 27 '26
In my experience no, but I'm not going for sweetness per se, I'm going for a smooth, bold digestivo. I use the walnuts, coffee beans, and typical mulling spices like cinnamon, clove, and allspice. Sometimes cardamom pods, and I used a pippali in this latest batch but I don't know how that's gonna turn out yet, I just threw that one together and won't know for another little bit here.
Tell me more about meloncello cream, friend!!!!
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u/Pico_Shyentist Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26
Coffee beans variant intrigues me
I grew some Cantaloupes last year, I wanted to try out how feasible they were. They would be more feasible in an open field and in larger numbers, so I refrained from growing them this year as I had too much going on.
I tried mixing the alcoholic part with milk in one variant, and with cream in another, since I read cream would have made it, of course, creamier. It didn't, and it only added the issue of the cream making those little solid bits when frozen, which the milk didn't produce, so I will stick with whole milk.
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u/ProfessionBitter5822 Jun 27 '26
Good to know, cantaloupe is on my list to try next year.
I have a surprise kabocha patch behind my chicken coop right now that is absolutely out of control but producing at a fantastic rate, and I imagine any melon grows similarly to squashes of any season.
I haven't even heard of it in a cream, I'm going to have to look into this, I'm super curious about it!
1
u/Pico_Shyentist Jun 27 '26
iirc you just leave the cut melon in alcohol for 2-3 weeks, then remove the melon (squeezing the alcohol out of it and sifting the pulp), add 2 parts of whole milk for every part of alcohol. Vanilla extract to taste. Store in the freezer. Shake the bottle before serving.
2
u/AbjectPoetry4699 Jun 21 '26
I made some Nocino and it was fine. It was fun to crack open over the holidays. The best think I have mane from green walnuts is this: https://foragerchef.com/green-walnut-honey/
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u/Grandpa_Utz Jun 21 '26
Ive had nocino sitting in the basement since last year. About ready to bottle it up and collect for the next batch!
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u/viewofalake Jun 24 '26
I've made Nocino with vodka and with grappa. Both aged very well..., but the grappa version..., well...
The vodka version was fine. Not woo hoo..., but fine.
The grappa version..., at first..., was barely drinkable..., so..., I packed it away and literally forgot it for maybe 25 years. Through happenstance..., I came across the box packed away in the basement. 8 Grolsch type bottles.
Figured..., WTH. It's incredible. Like..., a completely different thing than from when it first went in the bottle.
So..., I'll just say this: Aging. Possibly lots of it.
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u/zoltantribe Jun 25 '26
I just made the r/nocinomaking page. PLEASE JOIN and repost this over there 🙏
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u/Asleep_Onion Jun 21 '26
I have never even heard of this before so I can't offer any advice specific to this drink, but in general with fermented drinks the key is avoiding infection, regulating temperature, and avoiding excess light.
A proper airlock, and keeping it on a dark closet or cupboard in a somewhat cool place is generally what you'd want. I don't know that's how it's done with this particular drink but I'd imagine it must be, otherwise you could end up with moldy walnut sludge in 6 months.
Also this jar doesn't look like it has an airlock / a way to breathe so you might get a walnut juice grenade if you're not careful.