Purkhart Nux Alpina Walnut Liqueur 375ml

Destillerie Purkhart has produced eaux-de-vie, schnaps, and liqueurs in Steyr-Stein, Upper Austria, since 1932. The distillery has stayed under the same family for three generations, with Günter Purkhart earning a reputation for exacting standards and consistent quality, and he has gone on to teach distillation technique to many of today's leading Austrian producers. Capturing the true character of ripe fruit and regional Alpine ingredients remains the family's central focus across its range.

Nux Alpina revives a long Alpine tradition of walnut liqueur, known regionally as Nüsse or Nüssenschnaps in Austria and Germany, Noix in France, and nocino in Italy, with each producer relying on its own closely held blend of spices. Every summer, the Purkhart family and friends hand-pick fresh green walnuts of the delicate Weinsberg variety from wild stands near the village of Sankt Peter in der Au. The walnuts steep for months in Weinbrand, a double-distilled grape brandy, and during the final month a mix of spices and alpine botanicals is added before bottling at thirty two percent alcohol by volume.

The liqueur is rich and aromatic without being overly sweet, showing concentrated notes of cocoa and espresso that warm the palate before tapering into a faint, pleasant walnut bitterness, with the alpine botanicals lending a subtle herbal backbone throughout.