Thank those thrifty Italians!

"Thrifty Italians make a second, less potent liqueur by adding 2 cups of alcohol, a cup of sugar, and a bottle of cheap sparkling wine to the solids you filter out of the nocino. Let the mixture stand another couple of months, shaking occasionally. Drink unceremoniously."

This, from a Chowhound forum, was first emailed to me by my friend Kari, in response to my question about green walnut ketchup and nocino. After gathering green walnuts from our gigantic, squirrel-ridden tree, I set about making nocino, and after filtering out the solids, I made this second drink. Here it is:

Ain't it pretty? It tastes good, too. Tonight, we tried it for the first time. If we are still alive tomorrow, I'll consider it a roaring success, and proceed to make more next year. I believe I can turn this into a duck season opener tradition.

I also followed the directions pretty carefully for this one. Cheap sparkling wine? Target has a twist-off "champagne" (yes, I'm well aware of the controversy surrounding the name).