Meyer Lemon Limoncello
Limoncello is truly the liquid of the gods. I’m convinced of it! The lemony, sweetness awakens your senses and somehow soothes the soul. Half way into the sip you’re smacked with a heavy punch of alcohol leaving you momentarily breathless. It’s a lovely thing.
My first attempt at making Limoncello was a few months before our wedding. My husband’s family is Italian, so I really wanted something unique from Italy for everyone to drink. I can’t even remember how many lemons I ended up peeling for that initial batch, but my hands were not happy the next day. I’m not sure what is worse, peeling massive bags of potatoes when I worked in the restaurants or peeling thick skinned lemons for a delicious liqueur. Yep, I’m going to go with Potatoes. The end product is not a blissfully delicious.
Anyways, I remember something happening to that first batch- either it did not turn out quite right or between my parents and the two of us, we did so much “taste testing” that it strangely disappeared. There’s a good chance it was the later, so with only a month or so before our wedding, I was back at it – 4 large “costco” bottles in hand and bags of lemons. In the end, the Limoncello was a great success at our wedding. We even had enough left over to give people to take home that night.
Today, I’m going to share with you my favorite Limoncello recipe that I’ve made multiple times after that amazing wedding day. We are actually switching it up this time and using Meyer Lemons I picked up at Trader Joe’s. They have a much sweeter taste, so I’m excited to see how it turns out.
The batch we are making will be heading back with us to Minnesota, for the summer, to share with our friends and family. Hopefully it will last long enough to actually get back to Minnesota. As a disclosure, I cannot be held responsible if all of it doesn’t find it’s way home… this stuff is so dang good!
Vodka Monopolowa has become our new house vodka and it’s actually really nice. We were introduced to this brand from one of the sales associates at Trader Joe’s. For $9.99 it’s a great deal and so it was exactly what I wanted to add to my concoction. To make good Limoncello that won’t freeze when you get it ice cold in the freezer, it’s always good to add some 100 proof vodka as well. I usually do half and half. If you are adventurous, you can add Everclear, but that stuff stings!
Ingredients for your limoncello are pretty basic. Vodka, lemons, sugar and water. This time we are using Meyer Lemons.
- 16 Meyer Lemons or lemons, if Meyer Lemons are no longer available. Peels only, no pitch (the white part of the lemon). This will make it bitter
- 2 Liters of vodka, 1 - 80 proof and 1 - 100 proof
- 6 cups sugar
- 3 cups water
- 1. Place the lemon peels and vodka in a large container. Glass is the best, with a tight fitting lid. Let sit for 4 weeks at room temperature.
- 2. Strain liquid through a mesh strainer to remove the lemon peels, placing liquid into another large container. Discard the peels.
- 3. In a saucepan, mix together sugar and water, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Cool sugar syrup completely.
- 4. Add cooled sugar syrup into vodka and allow to sit overnight before drinking.
- 5. Limoncello can be bottled and stored in the freezer for up to 1 year. Make sure not to overfill the bottles to allow for expansion.
- Use the freshest citrus available as lemons stored for a long period of time will add a muddy, dull taste to your liqueur
