MikeInSacto

Emma - I think you generally end up with more extraction when you use less liquid. It's possible that you'll leave something behind in the solids, but if you do you'll still have saturated the liquid portion. You can always dilute down if that's too strong (and you can't do the opposite if it ends up too weak). I've done mine just to cover. Mike

Got my walnuts a day or two ago from Mt. Lassen. They'll be going into the alcohol tomorrow. Haven't thought about the recipe yet, except for upping the number of walnuts going in. Might try some of the maple syrup. I did a small batch last year in brandy instead of vodka, but didn't find it to make much of a difference. I won't be repeating that one this year. I bought 20 lbs of walnuts, so I may try for a small batch of vin de noix in addition to the nocino. Mike

The two earlier posts regarding instant coffee took me back to my college days. The first form of coffee I regularly drank was made with several heaping spoonfuls of instant coffee (Mexican Nescafe was preferred) in a large glass. Fill around 1/2 or 3/4 to the top with cold milk. Add more instant coffee if not dark enough. Add several tablespoonfuls of sweetened condensed milk. Stir like crazy until the condensed milk incorporates. Add ice. Not a subtle drink, but it tasted good and got the job done. Mike

I also found that using a garlic press to squeeze ginger juice into the syrup added a nice kick.

Thanks for the heads up, eje! I was just getting ready to get in touch with Mt. Lassen to see when this year's crop would be coming in. Last year's batch of nocino came out quite well, although not as rich as in years past. I will probably dump more walnuts in to see if I can get things a bit more concentrated this year. Mike

My nocino's getting strained and bottled this coming weekend. It will be exciting to see how the batch made with brandy compares with the batch made with vodka. Mike

I can only comment on the Toschi Nocello. It's a different animal from nocino (or at least the nocino I make). For one thing, it's a much lighter color - more of a light gold than a motor-oil black. It's sweet and syrupy, with a pronounced walnut flavor. There are no cinnamon-clove-spice flavors at all. It's not nearly as complex and interesting as nocino. More along the lines of something to put on ice cream, IMHO. Or maybe drizzled over figs and Humboldt Fog..... Mike

Eje, thanks so much for posting the info on the Rumiano guys at Mt. Lassen Farms! I have 12 pounds going that are split into 2 large containers, each with something over 2 quarts of vodka, and one small experimental batch of 12 walnuts soaking in brandy. Each has some cinnamon, clove, allspice, star anise, and lemon zest. It was nice dealing with Mt. Lassen Farms as the walnut tree across the street had a small crop this year. I'd have had to get right up to the top of the tree to get enough for this year's batch of nocino. Interesting that the crop was late enough this year that they harvested right about the time they do in Italy. I think I was already a month into it by this time last year. Thanks again for the pointer to Mt. Lassen Farms! EDIT: Sorry I missed your post, cdh. I'd have taken you up on that! Mike

This is true. The same enzyme that metabolizes methanol to formaldehyde also metabolizes ethanol. For many years, the only treatment for methanol poisoning basically involved keeping the patient drunk until the methanol was excreted. Nowadays, they use dialysis to remove the methanol, I believe. Mike

Doesn't anyone drink Campari on the rocks with a twist? I had one of those with an appetizer of white anchovies with radish and parmigiano earlier tonight, and the Campari was a good match. It cut through the oily anchovy flavor quite nicely, leaving my taste buds refreshed and ready for the next bite. Good stuff! Mike

I got my negroni recipe from a bartender at Il Fornaio after having a couple there and really liking them. Theirs is a simple: 1 part gin 1 part campari 1/2 part dry vermouth 1/2 part sweet vermouth It's worked for me! Mike

Thanks! The turkey was an odd thing. We have a friend who raises them. He does a very good job but tends to procrastinate a bit when it comes time to end their lives. (I don't think he minds killing them but the cleaning and plucking is a chore.) He's routinely supplied 27 pounders but the 40 pounder topped the charts. It was way too big for any oven that we had available, but it fit very nicely in the Caja China. The Caja China has sent us in some interesting directions. One of my pals and I ended up doing slaughtering and butchering duty on two pigs all because of it. This was something completely new to us, being your basic suburban non-hunter types, and it was quite the experience. Mike

Some friends of mine and I went in together on a La Caja China. The thing works absolutely beautifully. We've done a bunch of different things in it including a 40 pound pig, half of a 120 pound pig, a 20 pound pig leg, and a 40 pound turkey. All have come out of the box with succulent skin, tender meat, and delicious flavor. One other good thing about the Caja China is that it does require some tending. That means that someone has to sit around, enjoy delicious beverages, and make sure the fire doesn't go out. It can make for a very satisfying day..... Mike

Yikes! How does anyone ever walk out of there? Mike

Anyone here do Negronis with a 2:2:1:1 gin:campari:sweet vermouth:dry vermouth mix? To me, this makes for a better balanced drink than using all sweet vermouth. Mike

I believe mine are English walnuts. I'll be straining, adding syrup, and bottling in another week or so. Mike

Well all I have to say is THANKS!!!! I've never been able to make a good margarita. After reading this thread, I grabbed a lime, a bottle of Bauchant (a Gran Marnier type of orange-cognac liqueur) and a bottle of Cuervo Tradicional. Made a 3:2:1. Not perfect - as someone mentioned, a reposado isn't quite right for this. Nonetheless, it's the best I've ever made by far. I think my earlier problem was in using Luxardo Triple Sec. Things never balanced right no matter how I varied the proportions. Anyway, thanks again. Mike

Here's what mine looks like. It's been in the jar since June 6. Doesn't look like much - you can't see anything in there now. I'm not sure how long I plan to leave it. I went 60 days last year and got a really excellent drink out of it. Mike

Wow - you people are hitting on all the major influences, from Nick and Nora to chemistry. My parents weren't real big on cocktails. My mom rarely drank anything other than a small glass of wine and my dad was always more into CC on the rocks. But they did teach us an appreciation for fine food and beverages and cocktails seemed an important part of that. I'm a chemist as well, so anything that involves precise mixing of select ingredients that results in a wholly new substance is very appealing. What iced it, though, was when I got married. My wife's from Green Bay, so I was immediately (and I mean IMMEDIATELY) required to learn the proper proportions for a good brandy manhattan. Things branched out from there, but without proper training I have a long way to go. And then there's Nick and Nora. No one could ever make martinis (or anything else for that matter) seem more sophisticated than they could. Although I always wondered how they could go from a couple of eye-openers to a three martini lunch to a few in the afternoon to pre-dinner cocktails to several with the meal before heading out to the clubs for some serious drinking. I'd be dead after three days of that! ;-) Mike

Nice to hear from someone in Italy! Your walnits certainly ripen much later than ours. If I were to make it now I'd have to smash the walnuts with a hammer rather than slice them with a knife. Have you ever tried soaking the walnut pieces in sherry? That's a new one on me. Mike

You'll get addicted to it, I'll bet. I make one with bitter oranges, brandy and brown sugar that we eye anxiously all summer to make sure we're not running out before the weather cools down. I love a little glass of it over ice while I'm getting dinner together. regards, trillium ← I think I'm already displaying unhealthy tendencies. I made a half batch last year and loved it. I made a double batch this year (4 times as much) thinking that I might give some away. Now that I've started drinking it, though, I find I'm greedily hoarding it all for myself! Mike

I found that vodka seemed to work really well when I made this last year. I made it according to one of Georgeann Brennan's recipes (posted above, I think) and after all was said and done, it tasted about right in terms of the alcohol level. I don't think there was any problem as far as extracting flavor from the walnuts, either. Mike

Just finished bottling one of those a couple of weeks ago. Vin de Pamplemousse, from the Chez Panisse Fruit cookbook. White wine and vodka infused with grapefruit, blood orange, lemon, spices, and a few other odds and ends. Makes for a sweet-sour-bitter aperitif with a lovely pink color. Really nice stuff. Mike

Generally, I'll echo the sentiments of those who prefer less wood in their tequila. That said, my favorite is Orendain Anniversario Anejo. It seems to balance everything very nicely and makes for good sipping. Apart from that, I like Herradura Silver, particularly with sangrita. Mike

Anyone else making this right now? I just started my second annual batch yesterday. It's sitting in the back yard turning black as we speak. Mike