Nocillo or nocino is an ancient blend, dark in color and with a very high gradation of about 40°. It has a very digestive quality and a bitter flavor. Its origins are lost in time and the preparation is precise and almost ritual. Green Nuts are the main ingredient and have to be picked and cut on the 23 of June, the day before the celebration of San Giovanni. On this day the nuts are in their most “balsamic” period, because the kernel protected by the green hull and the soft shell doesn’t have any drops of water inside and is rich in essential oils. The nuts, including the hull, are left to marinate in alcohol for 30 – 40 days in closed glass bottles left in the sun that need to be shaken now and then. After marinating, the blend is filtered and diluted at cold temperature with a syrup made of sterilized water, sugar, cloves and cinnamon aromas. Then it’s left to rest for at least 2 months before consumption.