Ingredients
Unripe green walnuts, halved with their husks on, macerated in spirit with sugar and warming spices, then rested for months until the liquid goes near-black.
- ✦Green walnuts (whole, unripe)
- ✦Cinnamon
- ✦Clove
- ✦Lemon zest
- ✦Vanilla
- ✦Nutmeg
- ✦Sugar
History of the Brand
Nocino is a farmhouse tradition long before it was a product: walnuts were picked around the feast of San Giovanni on 24 June, when the nuts are still soft enough to cut through, and steeped by the women of the household.
Emilia-Romagna claims it most loudly, and Modena hosts the Ordine del Nocino Modenese, a confraternity that judges homemade batches every year.
Commercial versions appeared in the nineteenth century and now range from rustic and rough to polished, oak-rested bottlings.
American bartenders adopted it as a dessert-adjacent modifier, and craft distillers from California to Oregon now make their own using the same June-walnut method.
Tasting Characteristics
Walnut skin, molasses, cinnamon and cola.
Syrupy and dark, with bitter walnut tannin under brown sugar, clove and vanilla.
Warm and drying, the tannin scrubbing the sweetness away.
Flavor meter
How to serve it
- 01Neat in a tiny glass after dinner, at room temperature.
- 02Over ice with an orange twist.
- 03A half ounce in an Old Fashioned in place of simple syrup.
- 04Poured over gelato or stirred into espresso.
Where to Get It
Commercial bottlings are widely available; the best examples are still homemade and traded between families in Emilia.
Bottle shops
Look under Italian liqueurs; both Italian and American craft versions are common.
Online retailers
Modenese producers and US craft distillers both ship where permitted.
In Modena
Buy from a local producer or, better, get invited to someone's kitchen in June.
Where to buy Nocino
We may earn a commission when you buy through these links, at no extra cost to you. See our affiliate disclosure.
Nocino FAQ
What is nocino?
+
An Italian liqueur made by macerating unripe green walnuts with sugar and spices, traditionally from Emilia-Romagna.
Why are the walnuts picked in June?
+
Around the feast of San Giovanni on 24 June the nuts are still soft, so the husk and immature shell can be cut and infused whole.
How strong is nocino?
+
Anywhere from about 25% to 42% ABV depending on the producer and whether it is homemade.