Limoncello

Over the winter holidays, Brian made Limoncello as a gift for our families. The recipe is actually pretty easy, as long as you make it about a month ahead and are the proud owner of a Microplane grater.

We bought a huge bag of lemons at Costco (about 20-25 lemons), which Brian zested with the Microplane. This is absolutely the most labor-intensive part of the process, but well worth it. I suggest inviting a few friends over who will gladly help with the grating in return for a bottle of the end product later. If they also happen to own a Microplane, ask them to bring it and the process will go faster. Additional incentive is an immediate reward of a sip of your last batch of Limoncello before they go (but after the grating is done unless you want your guests to leave with grated fingertips!).

In a large glass jar he found at a craft store, Brian combined the zest with a 750 ml. bottle of Everclear and a 750 ml. bottle of high-proof Vodka. You can't buy Everclear in Ohio, but we travel to Kentucky frequently, and you can pick up a bottle at any liquor store there. Brian would prefer to use all Everclear, but this version is plenty strong, as it is. If you want an end product that won't knock you on your knees, you can just use high-proof Vodka for the whole thing. Cover tightly.

[At this point, you have a lot of zested lemons, so this is a great time to squeeze some lemon juice and either freeze it or make a really big batch of homemade lemonade. It is a also a good excuse to make lemon bars, citrus pound cake, etc... ]

Let the zest and alcohol mixture steep in a cool, dark place for 4-6 weeks, agitating the bottle from time to time. You can go as little as 2 weeks, but the longer you steep the alcohol in the lemon zest, the stronger the lemon flavor will come through.

Strain the mixture through several layers of fine cheesecloth or a couple of coffee filters into to another container and set aside. In a large stainless soup pot, boil 4 cups water and 4 cups sugar until the sugar is well dissolved. Cool to room temperature and add to the flavored alcohol. Mix thoroughly and then decant into small, air-sealed bottles. You can sometimes find these at World Market or even Linens-N-Things, or you can special order a case online.

Make your own labels using clear Avery address labels from an office supply store. I recommend those partly because I work for Avery Dennison, but mostly because they seem to adhere better to the bottles, which I wipe with alcohol first to get off any oils from shipping and handling. Another alternative is to make a hang tag label with colored card stock and foiled twisties (floral area of craft store) or fabric pony-tail holders (drugstore)

We store our Limoncello in the fridge or freezer, as it is best served very cold in small liqueur glasses. This both creates a nice presentation and limits consumption. The sweet lemon flavor masks the strength of the booze, so go easy. A few shots of this stuff and you'll be speaking Italian (or at least think you are)!