🥃 Nocino

Nocino is a dark brown liqueur made by steeping green, unripe walnuts in alcohol. In the EU it has its own category: the flavour comes from whole green walnuts, the strength is at least 30% ABV and sugar at least 100 g per litre. Its best-known form is the geographical indication Nocino di Modena. ¹²

What the law says. Category 38 of Regulation (EU) 2019/787, called “nocino or orehovec”, covers liqueurs whose flavour is given mainly by maceration and/or distillation of whole green walnuts (Juglans regia L.), with at least 100 g of sugar per litre, expressed as invert sugar, and at least 30% vol. ¹ The name “Nocino di Modena” has been protected in the EU register of spirit drinks since 13 February 2008. ²

Green walnuts. The Italian technical sheet defines the raw material as the unripe fruit with a green husk and a shell not yet formed, picked in June; a litre of finished Nocino di Modena needs at least 250 g of these walnuts. Herbalists call the right stage the “balsamic time”: the green fruit smells strongly and is full of sap and essential oils. ⁵

St John's night. Tradition says the walnuts are picked on 24 June, the feast of St John the Baptist, while the husk is still green and soft. An old folk belief held that the dew of the night between 23 and 24 June cured all ills, especially stomach and digestive troubles, and nocino was seen as an excellent remedy for them. The link between the feast and the making of the liqueur is still part of its culture. ⁵

From walnut to bottle. The walnuts are cut by hand or with slicing machines and left to macerate in alcohol for at least four months. The infusion, at 46–65% vol., is then drawn off and refined for at least six months. Sugar, water, an infusion of spices (cinnamon, cloves or coriander) and alcohol are added up to 38–43% vol.; the liqueur rests for at least ten days, is filtered and goes into glass bottles of up to 1.5 litres. ⁵

Wood, cloth and time. Home production, still common, keeps old tools: chestnut or oak barrels for refining the infusion and linen or cotton cloths for filtering. Producers today refine and age it in stainless steel or oak and filter it through cellulose papers. A label may say “invecchiato” after at least 20 months of refining and “riserva” after at least 32 months. ⁵

What is in the glass. Nocino di Modena is clear and dark brown, with an intense walnut aroma and a pleasant, persistent taste of unripe walnut. ⁵ Since 2016 the sheet also fixes its figures: 38–43% vol., 150–400 g/l of sugar, acidity 0.4 ± 0.1% as citric acid, density 1.08 ± 0.03 and about 290 g/l of net dry extract. ⁶

A Modena story. Between 1860 and 1867 Ferdinando Cavazzoni, a cook in the household of the noble Molza family, collected Modena recipes, including the “liqueur called nocino”; in 1891 Pellegrino Artusi printed the same method, adding lemon peel. The sheet places its birth between the Secchia and Panaro rivers. In 1968 historic producers formed a consortium for the mark “Nocino Tipico del Modenese”, active until the late 1980s. It is served neat at room temperature after meals, with ice in summer or hot like a punch in winter. ⁵

Why it matters to you. The dark colour and the taste of an unripe nut come from the walnuts themselves, and walnuts are an allergen that EU rules require to be shown on the label. ⁵³ Nocino is at least 30% ABV, Nocino di Modena 38–43% with plenty of sugar. ¹⁶ The old belief in its healing power is folklore, not medicine: WHO stresses that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. ⁴