Marionette Nocino
Nocino is a type of green walnut liqueur traditionally produced in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. Marionette produces this esoteric style, little known outside of Italy, simply out of love rather than any commercial motive, and it shows in the final product. Made in collaboration with Italian-born and Melbourne-based bartender Oralndo Marzo, this nocino is based on a summer harvest of green walnuts from an orchard in the Yarra Ranges. Heaps of dark soy umami on the complex nose mingles with port-like fruit, but there’s also brightness and lift from other botanicals and aromas of fresh red berries that balance all that richness. Sweet on the palate, with notes of roasted coffee and juniper. The sugar is well balanced and there’s still plenty of acid and nutty herbaceousness to offer a clean finish that's not at all as dense as the nose would indicate. All this results in one of Australia’s best digestif liqueurs.
