Hazelnut and walnut liqueur
A 36% nut liqueur made from ripe hazelnuts and walnuts, toasted first for a deep, creamy aroma and balanced between sweet and gently dry. Because it uses ripe nuts rather than the green June walnuts of traditional orzechówka, you can make it any time of year. Treat the amounts as a starting point and tune them by taste.
- Vodka in
- 2 L
- Liqueur out
- about 2.1 L
- Strength
- roughly 36% ABV
- Start to bottle
- about 4 weeks
Shopping list
Amounts scale with the batch size above. The method text uses the 2 L amounts.
Grocery store
Liquor store
Equipment
The ingredients
Method
Toasting the nuts is what gives this its deep, creamy aroma. After a month in vodka the nuts come out, the liqueur goes into the freezer overnight so the nut oils firm up and can be filtered off, and then it is sweetened to taste.
-
Day 0
Toast the nuts
Toast the hazelnuts at 175 °C (350 °F) for 12–15 minutes, until the skins crack and they smell toasty, and the walnuts at 160 °C (325 °F) for 8–10 minutes. Rub the warm hazelnuts in a kitchen towel to remove most of their skins, then let everything cool.
-
Day 0
Start the nut jar
Chop the nuts roughly and put them in the jar with the vanilla bean, split lengthwise, and the cinnamon if you're using it. Cover them with the vodka, seal the jar, keep it dark, and shake it every few days.
-
Weeks 3–4
Strain and press
Pour the liqueur through a sieve, then press the nuts firmly in cheesecloth, since they hold a lot of vodka.
-
Next day
Chill and filter out the oils
Put the strained liqueur in the freezer overnight; at this strength it won't freeze. The nut oils and fine solids firm up, so filter it while it's still ice-cold through coffee filters, changing the filter when it slows down.
-
Blend day
Make the syrup
Warm the demerara sugar and water just until the sugar dissolves, then let the syrup cool completely.
-
Blend day
Sweeten to taste
Add the syrup a little at a time, tasting as you go, until the sweetness balances the dry, nutty edge. You may not need all of it.
-
Then 4+ weeks
Bottle and age
Bottle it and let it age at least four weeks. It keeps getting rounder and creamier for several months.
Keep it safe
- It contains tree nuts. Label the bottles clearly and tell guests before serving.
- Taste a nut from each bag before using it; rancid walnuts spoil the whole batch. Keep shelled nuts in the refrigerator.
- Keep the jar sealed, dark and away from heat, and label it with the start date.
Tuning the next batch
- Too bitter or astringent: rub off more hazelnut skins, or strain after 3 weeks.
- Not nutty enough: toast the nuts a shade darker, or use 300 g of each.
- Oily film on top: repeat the freezer and filter step.
- Burnt taste: watch the nuts at the end of toasting; they go from toasted to burnt within a minute.
To serve
Serve it at room temperature or lightly chilled in small glasses, alongside coffee, or poured over vanilla ice cream.
