Homemade Black Walnut Liqueur Recipe (Nocino) | Homestead Honey (2024)

This black walnut liqueur recipe will teach you how to make your own walnut liqueur from immature, green walnuts! Perfect for sipping, or gifting.

Our homestead is blessed with a number of mature black walnut trees, from which we make cutting boards for our Etsy shop, dye fibers, make syrup, make ink, and eat the nut meats.

Last year we added another black walnut product to our growing list – a homemade black walnut liqueur (also known as nocino). Made from immature, green walnuts, nocino hasa dark, nutty flavorthat is perfect for sipping, or gifting. This black walnut liqueur recipe will teach you how to make your own!

According to the book Preserving Wild Foods byMatthew Weingarten andRaquel Pelzel, green walnuts are traditionally harvested on June 24th, to be enjoyed six months later as a Christmastime ritual.

With that date right around the corner, let me share with you the process by which we make this Black Walnut Liqueur recipe.

The photo above shows the immature (green) black walnuts. We did indeed harvest the green walnuts on June 24th, but you may need to adjust the date for your location and climate.

Simply look for walnuts that are about the size of a small lemon. You will need about 25 walnuts for this walnut liqueur recipe.

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We loosely followed the nocino recipe in Preserving Wild Foods, which calls for the addition of lemon rind, cinnamon sticks, and star anise, but you could also omit the spices for a purerblack walnut flavor.

Homemade Black Walnut Liqueur Recipe

To begin making your homemade black walnut liqueur, slice approximately 25green walnutsinto quarters and place them in a half gallon or gallon sized mason jar.

Add 1 cinnamon stick and afew star anise pieces.

Add the zestof one lemon, peeled into large strips.

Cover the ingredients with vodka. We used about 3 cups ofvodka – no need to purchase quality vodka, the cheap stuff will do just fine! Place a lid on your mason jar and shake. Set the jarin your pantry, or another cool place, to steep.

After two or three months, strain the contents and add a sugar syrup, made by dissolving 1-2 cups of sugar in 1/2 to 1 cup of water. (You can adjust the proportions to make a stronger or sweeter end result.)

Placethe resulting liqueur into a jar or bottle, again covering and storing in a cool place for another 3-4 months.

It’s hard to describe this unique dark, sweet, slightly nutty flavor. It’s lovely sipped, it’s very nice mixed in cold milk (think Baileys and cream or Kahlua and milk), and a friend of ours creatively crafted a new nocino-inspired co*cktail. Cheers!

Yield: 1 bottle

Collect immature walnuts in May or June and make nocino, or black walnut liqueur to enjoy at the holidays! Give this simple and delicious recipe a try!

Prep Time20 minutes

Resting 3 months 2 seconds

Total Time3 months 20 minutes 2 seconds

Ingredients

• 25 green walnuts
• 1 cinnamon stick
• a few star anise pieces
• 1 lemon
• 3 cups vodka
• sugar syrup (dissolve 1-2 cups of sugar in 1/2 to 1 cup of water)

Instructions

1. To begin making your homemade black walnut liqueur, slice approximately25green walnutsinto quarters and place them in a half gallon or gallon sized mason jar.
2. Add1 cinnamon stick and afew star anise pieces.
3. Add thezestof one lemon, peeled into large strips.
4. Cover the ingredients with vodka(we used about 3 cups ofvodka – no need to purchase quality vodka, the cheap stuff will do just fine!), place a lid on and shake.Then set the jarin your pantry, or another cool placeto steep.
5. After two or three months,strain the contents and add a sugar syrup, made by dissolving 1-2 cups of sugar in 1/2 to 1 cup of water. (Adjust the proportions to make a stronger or sweeter end result.)
6. Placethe resulting liqueur into a jar or bottle, again covering and storing in a cool place for another 3-4 months.

Notes

It’s hard to describe this unique dark, sweet, slightly nutty flavor. It’s lovely sipped, it’s very nice mixed in cold milk (think Baileys and cream or Kahlua and milk), and a friend of ours creatively crafted a new nocino-inspired co*cktail.Cheers!

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