Walnuts have a long and strange history in Italy. While you might not immediately associate the fatty nuts shaped like little brains with Italian cuisine (as pine nuts, hazelnuts, and even chestnuts hog all that glory), they are quite popular in the northern Italian regions of Campania and Emilia-Romagna.

According to PUNCH, the liqueur has a rather mystic history dating back to the 13th century, when barefoot virgins were enlisted to pick the walnuts that make the spirit. Newly married couples in ancient Rome would be pelted with walnuts by their guests to encourage luck and prosperity, and in Benevento in Campania, there is an ancient walnut tree that was said to be a gathering place for witches to perform spells.