Truly worth the time required to create this distinguished ice cold refreshing drink.

Limoncello

lemons

vodka

white sugar

water

Zest the lemons, and place zest into a large glass bottle or jar. Pour in vodka. Cover loosely and let infuse for one week at room temperature.


After one week, combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Do not stir. Boil for 15 minutes. Allow syrup to cool to room temperature.


Stir vodka mixture into syrup. Strain into glass bottles, and seal each bottle with a cork. Let mixture age for 2 weeks at room temperature.


Place bottled liqueur into the freezer. When icy cold, serve in chilled vodka glasses or shot glasses.


My friends and family LOVE this recipe.  However, I found that when you reduce the sugar by half, the flavors become more alive.  I have now tried this recipe using lemons, limes, grapefuit and tangerines...and it is all fabulous.

Was a hit at my summer party,( A little tip) for server,cut a half a gallon milk carton in half,place bottle of limoncello in the center, fill with water and flowers and freeze overnight.peel back carton and serve on a plate and have a towel handy. This will guarentee limoncello stays chilled!

This is worth the effort. It's much easier to peel the lemons and use the peels than to zest them. Just, make sure you leave the pith (the nasty white part )on the lemons. It will make your Limoncello slightly cloudy and bitter tasting.

I am currently stationed in Naples, Italy.  I took a class on how to make Limoncello, trust me on this, use 1 Liter of Everclear, and 1 Liter of water.  I have talked to people that said Vodka does not do it justice.  We were taught to use a potatoe peeler, you don't want any of the white, it makes it taste bitter.  Other than that, follow the recipe wrt sugar and the time line.  Remeber to keep this in the freezer prior to drinking.

Great recipe! I also cut the sugar down to 2 cups (also 2.5 C of water), and I boiled lemonzest with the sugar/water mix to add a stronger lemon flavor to the whole thing. (Note: leftover lemon syrup is great for flavoring other drinks or making Italian sodas as well)

I followed the suggestions of other reviewers and used a veggie peeler on my lemons, which made this much more manageable. I used organic lemons, since I figured it's the one time where the part of the lemon I'm the most interested in is the outside! After peeling off chunks of peel, I flipped them over and scraped them with the side of my knife to remove all of the pith. The end result made enough for x-mas presents for a few people and some for me to keep as well! My recommendation for drinking this: mix with pomegranite juice or cranberry juice. The flavors work so perfectly together, it tastes like you're drinking candy!

Good if you prefer the 'clear' limoncello. I personally prefer the creamy version and have a recipe from a native Italian that is delicious.

Some suggestion. Since you are using only the outer skin of the lemon, look for organic lemons that have not been treated with nasty stuff.   Look for lemon varieties that have a thick skin and are high in essential oils.  Try peeling thin strips with a potato peeler.  A zester will prematurely release the oils in the skin.  Try to avoid the pith (white part) as this is what causes bitterness.  Also try an alternative sweetener such as agave instead of refined sugar for a warmer palate feel.  This recipe will create a Limoncello that is a little low in alcohol over traditional Limoncello. If you are using Vodka (40% 80 proof) the final alcohol will be less that 20% instead of 30-35%. It will freeze at this proof.  A higher proof alcohol will extract out the oils and color faster. We love Limoncello so much we started a company in Sonoma to produce it commercially.  Check out www.hellosonoma.com  Salute!  Limoncello di Sonoma

Love this recipe, I made a few changes to make things easier for me.  First I poured off just enough Vodka (100 proof) out of the bottle to fit the lemon peel directly into the Vodka bottle.  I then aged this for three weeks.  After combining the simple syrup with this mixture, I poured it back into the Vodka bottle and an emptied, cleaned wine bottle (or two if needed).  I let this age for three weeks as well, then strained.  I think leaving the zest in the mix for the second aging increased the lemon flavor and helped balance the sweetness.  Thank you for providing the recipe, its so much better than storebought.  

limoncello

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total: 40 minutes

Servings: 18

Cost: $1.23 /serving

Author : Michele O'Sullivan

Ingredients

Instructions

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