There's a beautiful walnut tree in the college near the house, we walk by it amost daily. No one harvests the walnuts, and eventually the squirrels decimate the tree, knocking down the walnuts and eating a small portion of each nut and letting the rest go to waste. I hate waste. So, I sort of borrowed a few walnuts, stuffing them in my shorts pockets and looking like a clown on the walk home. Then, I started taking a backpack. Soon, I left enough walnuts for the squirrels, but the little buggers had to climb for their pillage.

Shown here is the maceration for walnut bitters, which simply soaks sliced walnuts in grain alcohol for half a year or more. Over time the bright green color turns black, but its quite beautiful while it exists. Soon, I will filter this and mix in a simple syrup and maybe a few spices, but I find that the walnut itself has a lovely perfume and subtle taste. I think adding spices may take away rather than add.