E Curti Nucillo Walnut Liqueur, 2017 (750ml)

The walnut liqueur is made from the hull of the walnut which is left to ferment in alcohol for about 60 days. This liqueur has always boasted a pagan sacredness which was also recognized by the Greeks and the Romans and was often linked to the esoteric rites of witches who gathered under the branches of walnut trees for their fiendish Sabbath. Even today, tradition dictates that the green walnuts (which are needed to make this liqueur) must be gathered only during the 24th. June, the day in which the Summer Solstice was once celebrated and which today is religiously remembered in the figure of Saint John the Baptist. The heavy dew of that night is considered by tradition as a cure for all ills. The benefits of this liqueur for the stomach was already known in the 16th. Century as attested in "The treasure of health" by the famous doctor, Castro Durante de Gualdo. The ancestral heritage is certainly from Padua, however this liqueur has become part of the gastronomical tradition of the areas where walnuts are produced. In Naples, families belonging to the older generation with strong ties to tradition offer this liqueur made from walnuts at the end of a meal. Due to the influence of the Neapolitan dialect, this liqueur is known as "nucillo".