How To Drink Limoncello In June

When life hands you lemons... well, this is no place for tired cliches.

Limoncello, the classical sweet lemon liqueur, comes from Italy, dating back to about a hundred years ago.  Every other detail is in question.  This is normal when it comes to the history of spirits.  It is traditionally made from Sorrento lemons, but it is possible to make perfectly delicious limoncello without them.

The traditional way to make limoncello calls for nothing more than lemon peels, sugar, water and spirit.  If you want to make it in the classical style, try this:

Limoncello
12 Lemons
1 750-ml bottle of Vodka
3.5 c. Water
2.5 c. Sugar
Peel the lemons, scraping away as much pith as possible.  In a glass pitcher, combine the peels and the vodka.  Cover and store for 4 days.  Heat the water in a saucepan over low heat and stir in the sugar until it dissolves.  Remove from heat and cool completely.  Pour this simple syrup into the vodka, stirring gently. Let it stand overnight, then strain and bottle.

And this produces a fine, perfectly adequate limoncello.  My own palate, however, likes bolder flavor.  I learned a very cool technique from lazy perfectionist Jeffrey Morgenthaler, who learned it from David Wondrich. He makes oleo saccharum to use in making punch at Clyde Common.  To make this, you will need 3/4 pound of fine baking sugar and 10 lemons.  You will also need, in my opinion, a channel knife.  I use this.  Peel your lemons with the channel knife and put them in a zipper bag with the sugar.  Press out the air, seal it and walk away.  So easy – time does the work!  Over the next couple of hours, the oil from the lemons will seep out into the sugar and liquify it. This is the sweetener you will use to make my variation on limoncello.




Bolder Limoncello

20 Lemons (half for Oleo Saccharum)
1 750-ml Bottle of Rehorst Citrus & Honey vodka
3/4# Fine Baking Sugar
1 c. Fresh Lemon Juice
.5 c. Honey
1-2 c. Distilled Water

Peel half of the lemons, avoiding the pith, and soak them in the vodka for 4 days, up to 4 weeks.  Prepare the Oleo Saccharum according to the instructions above. Strain the lemons out of the Everclear and combine it with the Oleo Saccharum, half the Honey and Lemon Juice.  Taste it, and correct its strength with the Distilled Water.  If it is not sweet enough, rectify it with the remaining Honey, which will impart a deep, vegetal note that white sugar cannot.  Strain the entire mixture through coffee filters until it is clear and lovely.

At this point, you can drink the limoncello.  I prefer to shake it with ice and serve it up, but it can also be served out of the freezer, for a sterner ethanol profile. Alternatively, you can mix it into cocktails, like the one below.  I developed this for the Mother's Day 2012.

 The Mother Gooser

 .75 oz. Limoncello
.75 oz. Bacardi Razz
.75 oz. Peach Schnapps
1 oz. Fresh Strawberry Puree
.75 oz. Rose Petal Syrup
1 oz. Champagne
Combine the first five ingredients in your Boston Shaker.  Shake and pour into a chilled Champagne or Cocktail glass.  Float the Champagne on top. The cocktail on the left is garnished with fresh Strawberry Slices and Candied Orange Peel.