SALUDOS!

Taken this lovely recipe for walnut alcoholic beverage from an email sent from Mr Declan Mc Grath! As yet untried by me, next years crop of walnuts should see us suitably sloshed.

I write because I happened across my "Vin de Noix" recipe in a travel
> note book from April 2004.  We were introduced to this in a small B+B
> in Audrehem, Pas de Calais Nord run by Mons. Lamarliere, who made the
> "vin", and his wife Therese.  Quite an elderly couple, he said the
> recipe was passed down from his father before WW II.
> 
> We have made it here once since and it was quite successful.  The end
> product is a bit like a port,  and the Lamarlieres served it as an
> aperitif,  but I reckon it could just as easily be a digestif,  or
> just a drink for no dietary reason at all !
> 
> INGREDIENTS
> 
> 15 x  litres of vin ordinaire.  There's no need for anything very
> delicate! Maybe "costa" ?
>  3 x   kgs caster/granulated sugar
>  2 x   oranges chopped into small pieces
> 1.5 x litres of alcohol.  Any strong spirit will do: they may distill
> something in Murtas using wine remnants?
> 25  x green walnuts.  These are picked in France by early July.  The
> whole nut and husk is used and must
>         be harvested early enough to be able slice right through them
> with a knife.  (i.e. the hard shell has not formed).
>         They should be halved, or quartered. Given the heat where you
> are I'd suspect your walnuts are much
>         earlier than northern  France
>  1 x tablespoonful of honey.
> 
> METHOD
> 
> Mix all the ingredients together.  Place them in a suitable sealable
> container.  (I used a large plastic carboy with screw cap).
> 
> Allow to marinate for 4 months - giving the whole shebang a fairly
> vigorous agitation at least every couple of weeks or so.
> I'd imagine a dark cool spot will give the best results and ensure you
> don't lose too much through evaporation. We used
> our garage - but the heat was nothing like yours.
> 
> As the oranges and walnuts have turned into a type of sludge by now,
> you'll need to filter the finished vin as you bottle it
> to avoid having too much sediment in each bottle.
> 
> The ingredients are exactly as given,  but I imagine precision is not
> required and you could be reasonably flexible.
> 
> If you do try it,  I look forward to hearing how successful it is and
> if there's any still around we'd fancy a sip when we next visit
> Murtas!
> 
> Salaams,   Declan.
> 
>