Just before Covid, I travelled to Italy; while I did not go to the south, limoncello was everywhere. From a Canadian perspective, limoncello is a really really sweet liqueur and not very tasty. Once you taste the real stuff, now we are talking. While still sweet, they crank the alcohol to 30%+.
Another thing that struck me is the size of the lemon over there, they are big and much sweeter than what we get.
I cannot wait to go back there, until then, at least I have decent limoncello to sip
The final product contains about 32% alcohol and is sweet but not overly. If you live in a place where they grow lemons you are golden. I’m not 🙁
You need
- 750ml 70% alcohol*
- 9-10 organic lemons**
- 380g sugar
- 720g water
*If you are able to get 96% alcohol, you can use it, simply use 525g sugar & 1265g water. This will give you an extra 600ML of the liqueur
**Organic lemons? Yes, unfortunately, if you live in a place where lemons don’t grow, the lemons you get at the grocery have been chemically shooted and/or waxed. These will give a bitter taste to your precious drink.
Instructions
- First, wash the lemon under water and dry them. Using a knife or peeler, remove the peels from the lemons and put them in a large container that seals properly.
- Add your alcohol to the container and seal it
- Set aside for a minimum of 5 days and up to 30 days ( I usually stop midway) , the longer you wait the stronger the lemon flavor will be. Make sure to store it in a cool dark place.
- After the time has passed, put the water and sugar into a pot and bring to a simmer while stirring. Set aside to cool.
- Strain the lemon peels from the alcohol and put it in the water/sugar mix.
- Transfer into a bottle
Salut!