Limoncello

Photo: Sheri Wetherell

Ingredients

15 lemons

2 (750 ml) bottles good quality vodka or grappa

4 cups sugar

5 cups water

Preparation

Wash the lemons with hot water to remove wax; pat dry. Zest the lemons with a zester or vegetable peeler so there is no white pith on the peel. You want to take great care while zesting to make sure you are only getting the outer part of the rind. The pith is too bitter and will spoil your limoncello!

Put the peels in a large 1 gallon plus glass jar and add one bottle of alcohol and seal tightly. Leave the jar to steep in a cool, dark place until the peels lose their color, at least 2 weeks.

After the initial 2 week resting period, combine the sugar and water in a large saucepan and cook until thickened and clear. Let the syrup cool. Add the syrup and the additional bottle of alcohol to the limoncello mixture from Step 2. Allow to rest for another 10 to 40 days.

Strain out the lemon peels through a coffee filter or cheesecloth and pour the limoncello into another container. Press down to remove all the alcohol and oils that you can from the peels before tossing them. Stir the liquid with a clean plastic or wooden spoon. Put the liqueur in clean bottles (I prefer swing top bottles), seal tightly and leave the finished bottles for at least 1 week before using.

Store your limoncello in the freezer to enjoy icy cold – it won’t freeze.

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About

Originally from Sorrento, Italy, a charming sea town on the Amalfi Coast known for it’s narrow windy roads, and beautiful citrus groves.

Limoncello is a digestif made from lemon rinds, alcohol, sugar and water. Although it’s made from lemons it’s sweet not sour, since it’s made from the rinds and not the juice. It’s sipped icy cold (but never with ice) after dinner from small glasses.

Note: If you use Everclear or some other more pure alcohol, dilute it to about 40%, the strength of vodka. Below that, it will not properly extract all the oils from the rinds.