Stolen With Love / Fabriano Friends Collection
Let’s start with this: amaro is delicious. Bitter, earthy, and herbal, it’s essentially Italy in a glass. And while some versions take wizard-level patience to make, nocino (its nutty, slightly wicked cousin) really isn’t that hard. Traditionally drunk around Christmas, it only made sense to start thinking ahead and make a few bottles for our favourite collaborators and supporters here in Fabriano.
So, late June, maybe a little after the ideal time, oops (hope Saint John the Baptist forgives us) we set off on a sunny Sunday bike ride. The back roads toward Sassoferrato are some of our favourites: quiet, green, and lined with old walnut trees, heavy with unripe fruit. Technically, you’re supposed to pick green walnuts the last weekend of June for good luck, but we figured better late than never. We might’ve “borrowed” a few kilos… no one stopped us, so that’s basically permission, right?
Back home, the process began. The green walnuts were scrubbed, chopped (wear gloves unless you fancy black-stained fingers for weeks), and dropped into a big glass jar with the highest-proof alcohol we could find — around 90%. In went sugar, a few spices, and strips of lemon rind. Then it was left to do its thing. The best part? Nocino doesn’t need much fussing. A stir here, a taste there, and otherwise it just sits, soaking up sunshine and secrets.
About 6 months later came straining day, filtering out the nuts, lemon, and cinnamon bits, then diluting the liquid to something that wouldn’t blow your head off. Bottling it up without drinking half was a challenge, but knowing these were destined as gifts for the people who’ve believed in this project from the start, the locals, the friends, the quiet helpers, helped us stay (mostly) disciplined.
Now the bottles sit, dark and gleaming, ready for the festive season. It’s not just a drink; it’s a little bottle of story, a toast to community, craft, and the joy of making something from what the land quietly offers, even if it’s not ours.
And yes, nocino has officially made it into our Christmas repertoire. It’s got us thinking, too, what’s next?
More ferments, more stolen-with-love ingredients, more of these little experiments that somehow turn into traditions at Fritto Misto Comune.
A little more about Nocino
Nocino is the dark, nutty, slightly mysterious cousin of amaro — made from green, unripe walnuts steeped in strong alcohol, sugar, and spice, and left to mature. It’s deep, bittersweet, and laced with the memory of summer. Traditionally made around the feast of St. John the Baptist (24 June), it’s said to hold a little magic from the longest days of the year, perfect for sipping when the nights are so short in winter.
