Homemade limoncello is magic. The intensely refreshing lemony flavor, the color, the aroma! And it is easy and fun to make. Here is how to make your own.
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When I think of limoncello, I think of enjoying it outside with friends after a summer meal. Or at an Italian restaurant by the sea when an ice-cold glass of limoncello arrives at the table in omaggio — in homage. Even better when the owner made it. The best limoncello is homemade.
What Is Limoncello
Limoncello is a sweet lemon liqueur. One of the most popular after-dinner drinks, or digestivos, in Italy, it is traditionally enjoyed at the end of a meal. What is also very traditional is making your own. Limoncello represents hospitality and la dolce vita in Italy. When someone serves you a little glass of their homemade limoncello, it is invariably with an expression of relaxed joy. What a wonderful liqueur!
Lemon Lovers! Lemon granita is another cool summer recipe. Very similar to limoncello to make, alcohol is replaced with iciness. It is actually the ultimate hot-weather refresher. I am rather addicted to it in the summer.
Ingredients: Lemons, sugar, grain alcohol and spring water
Ingredient Notes
Lemons
The taste of your limoncello depends first of all on the lemons themselves. We have made batches of limoncello on both sides of the Atlantic this winter, and each has its own character due to the different kinds of lemons available to us. Wherever you live, look to use:
- Organic Lemons – You want organic lemons because they are unwaxed. Some non-organic lemons are unwaxed too. We do not want wax in our limoncello.
- The Freshest Lemons – Fresh firm lemons with thick skin are the easiest to peel. You want this because the precious yellow peel with its intensely aromatic oils are what we are after, with as little white pith as possible.
Water
Avoid tap water to prevent undesirable flavors. The ideal is water with as few minerals possible. We use spring water or distilled water.
Alcohol
Neutral grain alcohol (190 proof/95%) is the very best for making limoncello, and what we use here. Some use grappa, but it can impart its own taste. Some use vodka, but it can also have a taste. To use vodka, you would need to adjust the amounts up (around double) to come close to the same alcohol percentage as grain alcohol or grappa.
How to Make Limoncello
Limoncello requires no special skills. Detailed instructions for how to make limoncello are included in the recipe, but here is a quick run through.
3 Easy Steps
- Make a Lemon Infusion (Under 15 minutes)
- Let Rest (48 hours)
- Make a Syrup and combine with infusion (5 minutes)
1) Make a Lemon Infusion
Peel the zest off the lemons. Then simply pour the alcohol into the lemon peels and let rest to let the essential oils, color, and flavor from the peels transfer into the alcohol.
Peel Lemons
A vegetable peeler is the ideal tool for getting the kind of zest you need for limoncello. If you have more than one peeler, try them all out to find which one leaves the least white pith. Out of my three, this vegetable peeler works best.
Zest the lemon into spirals or strips, however you like. Long strips make it easier and cleaner when pouring the infusion into the syrup, since they tend to stay nicely in the jar.
Francesco — who grew up making spirals out of all kinds of citrus peels in Italy, where it is custom to finish the meal with fruit — is certainly better at peeling long spiraling strips than I am, and happy as a lark to do so. Me? I tend to peel the lemons lengthwise into top-to-tail strips.
I am not a fan of finely grating the lemon zest. It is simply not necessary to go to all that trouble and mess and extra work and time it takes to grate ten or more lemons.
Plus, while finely grated zest may provide more surface area, when finely grating the peel, lots of compounds fly into the air and all over your hands instead of into the infusion. And according to experiments done at the University of Naples, even one day is sufficient for the major components to be extracted, and another 24 hours for the remaining minor components. So, in just 48 hours, the extract is fully saturated with the essential oils, flavor and beautiful color from the peels.
I believe in a more relaxed, enjoyable approach to making limoncello. And after all, Italians have been making and thoroughly enjoying limoncello forever without finely grated zest.
Pour Alcohol into Lemon Peels
After pouring in the alcohol, push the peels below the level of the alcohol before closing the lid, and let rest for 48 hours.
What to Do with the Naked Lemons
Now we have lots of lemons without their peel. What to do with them? First, seal them in a bag to act as a substitute protection from drying out. Then, here is what we do:
- If it is cold outside: We make a hot cup of lemon-honey tisane to sip on. Just add a wedge of lemon juice and a dollop of honey to hot water. Beautiful!
- If the weather is warm: Refreshing Lemonade and Sicilian lemon granita are our go-to treats.
- Anytime of Year: We squeeze them on fresh salads with tasty extra virgin olive oil and sea salt.
On the weekend, we make a lemony salmoriglio sauce to marinate and serve on a simple roasted branzino fish or grilled fish like sea bream (orata).
And then there is, the sublime (and easy) lemon pasta (our version coming soon!) — if you have never tried lemon pasta, I highly recommend it.
In just a couple of days, the color, perfume and flavor is fully transferred from the lemon peels into the alcohol.
2) Make a Syrup
After your lemons have steeped for 48 hours, you can make the syrup and combine it with your lemon infusion.
Pour sugar into a pan.
Add water, stir over heat until the sugar is dissolved and let cool.
Now pour your golden lemon infusion into the syrup through a strainer and stir.
Time to Bottle
Pour into sterilized bottles, seal and forget about it for a week or two while your limoncello rests in a cool dark place.
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Make It Your Own
Everyone makes their own version of limoncello, and so can you. Some like it sweeter, some like it with less alcohol. After trying your first batch, go ahead and adjust it to your taste, if you like, by adding more water or sugary syrup. Or jot down notes for the next batch. Why not make it your own traditional treasure to pass down for generations.
Storing
Limoncello can be stored in the fridge or freezer. We keep a bottle in the freezer — as it is at its best ice cold — which gives it a wonderful syrupy quality. Because of the high alcohol content, it does not freeze.
Store extra bottles in a cool dark place, as light and heat can play tricks with its color, aroma and flavor. While limoncello lasts a good while, it is best drunk within the year.
How to Drink Limoncello
Limoncello is best enjoyed ice cold. Besides storing a bottle of limoncello in the freezer, we like to put the glasses in the freezer a little while before serving. My mother keeps several in the freezer permanently!
And then there is the pleasure of sharing your limoncello with friends and family. One of the things I love about limoncello is that it is equally perfect enjoyed casually on backyard lounge chairs as at a fancy dinner table.
Limoncello After Dinner
Limoncello is a beautiful after dinner drink to share. I recommend serving limoncello as sipping drink in 1-ounce (30ml) servings. Tiny 2-ounce (60ml) glasses are a great size to fill up halfway.
We particularly like limoncello after a wonderfully simple fish dinner, like roasted branzino or grilled sea bream (orata), or after some of our favorite summer pastas like a quick pasta pomodoro, Sardinian spaghetti alla bottarga, or pasta with one of Italy’s wonderful pestos, either Ligurian pesto or Sicily’s pesto alla Trapanese.
Limoncello as an Aperitivo
For an aperitivo, mix limoncello with a little tonic water (sweet) or club soda (non-sweet).
Limoncello with Basil
A leaf, two, or a handful of basil is delightful with limoncello, whether drinking straight up or with tonic.
Gifting
It is so satisfying giving something you made for the love of it. Limoncello makes a wonderful gift. Make your own labels for a nice touch.
Tool Notes
This is an easy recipe, but there are a few simple tools needed, so be sure to check those out in the recipe below before getting started. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- One of our vegetable peelers leaves a lot more pith behind than the others, and that is what you want — a peeler that will include as little white pith as possible.
- You want a wide-mouth jar so that you can get the peels back out easily.
Limoncello Recipe
Tools
- vegetable peeler
- wide-mouth ½-gallon jar with airtight lid
- fine mesh strainer
- funnel
- 5 16-oz bottles, sterilized
Ingredients
Infusion
- 10 organic lemons (unwaxed)
- 4 cups grain alcohol (190 proof/95% by volume)
Syrup
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 5 cups spring water
Instructions
- Make a Lemon Infusion: Wash and pat dry the lemons. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the thin yellow layer of zest from the lemons, avoiding as much white pith as possible. Place the zest in the jar and pour in the alcohol. Store tightly closed in a cool dark place for 2 days (48 hours) without opening, giving it a quick shake once a day.
- Make a Syrup: Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
- Mix Together: Pour the lemon-infused alcohol through a strainer into the cooled syrup. Mix well. (Discard the lemon peels.)
- Bottle: Using a funnel, transfer the limoncello into bottles, tightly seal and let rest in a dark place for at least 2 weeks to let the flavors develop before drinking.
- Store and Serve: Store the limoncello (and glasses, if you like) in the freezer and serve ice cold.
Notes
- Serving size: 1 ounce (30ml)
- For a more delicate and fresher tasting lemon flavor, shorten the extraction time to 24 hours.
- No problem if you need to leave the lemon peels in the alcohol for months, but only 48 hours is necessary for the alcohol to be completely saturated with the essential oil components, flavors and color.
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With Mediterranean roots among the sea and sun of southern Italy, some of the most famous regions for limoncello are along the Amalfi coast, Sorrento and the island of Capri in Campania. Of course, there is also Sicily and Calabria, and Liguria and Sardinia, where it is also called Limoncino. Going way back, everyone from monks, fisherman and friendly neighbors have shared the ritual delight and gestures of hospitality of this sunkissed elixir.
