One of my favorite Italian Spirits is a liqueur called Nocino. It is made from green walnuts, in Florence picked on June 24th – la festa di San Giovanni, their patron Saint – to make into the delicious digestivo Nocino, a walnut liquor. The green hulls of walnuts are infused in alcohol for two months and then some spices are added to the mix. I have never had a commercial one, only homemade but they are sold in the US as evidenced by this list of products on wine-searcher.com.

What differentiates a spirit from a liqueur? Apparently liqueurs tend to have fruit or nuts and spices and are sweeter and lighter in alcohol than a spirit. Here’s an article on the topic by Food & Wine that I found online. I often have liqueurs in the house but drink less frequently than wine. Liqueurs are also called cordials and they are usually served as a digestif, after dinner, with or without dessert.