We are headed down to California Wine Country in the next couple weeks, and one of the great things about being in California is the amazing abundance of lemons. Lemons are as prolific there as mint is here in the Pacific Northwest (did you know we are the top producer of mint? Now you do.), and what better way to reminisce about our wine-logged adventures once we return than with a tasty bit of limoncello? We can’t think of one.

So a couple months back we bought a bunch of lemons to experiment with to nail down a recipe. After trying a couple batches and a couple tweaks, we’ve arrived at a recipe that we are proud of (Read: are currently drinking. Yum).  This is a process that isn’t necessarily time consuming, it just involves a lot of waiting around. If you are looking for a tasty treat today, we suggest skipping a step and go to the liquor store instead.

Before we give you the recipe, we would like to give you the following tips that will most definitely make your limoncello better:

1. If you can get Neutral Grain Spirit (Everclear), use it. Here in the state of Washington, like a lot of places, it’s illegal. You have to have a special permit to obtain the stuff, as its proof hovers around 170 or above. The great thing about using it is that your finished product will have a better kick, and it imparts no flavor into your limoncello, something that even vodka can’t claim. The next best thing is 100 proof vodka, which is most certainly more readily available. If you DO use the Neutral grain spirit, you might want to up the water and sugar you use, just to keep the final product from knocking you over in one glass. Unless that is what you are going for…

2. How much sugar you use with dictate how sweet it is (duh). We scaled ours back a little to make it less sweet (we know it still looks like a lot!) but if you want yours sweeter, then by all means, tweak away.

3. The longer you let it sit, the stronger the lemon flavor will be. The suggestion we found is to not let it sit for more than 6 weeks. We did ours for about 3 weeks, but you can most certainly go longer than that. Just be sure to keep an eye on it, we won’t be held responsible for you growing botulism in your pantry, ok?

4. This recipe is scalable! You can double it or triple it, this is just a small batch, one that will fit in a 750ml bottle with a little left over.

5. And finally, when peeling your lemons, try to get as little of the pith (white stuff under the peel) as possible. It’s no good, and it will make your limoncello bitter. This really is important.

Okay! here we go! You will need:

6 fresh lemons (don’t use old ones, the peels will be harder to get off.)
4 cups Neutral Grain Spirit or 100 proof Vodka
1.5 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 vanilla bean (optional! but we like it better with than without)

What to do:

1. Wash the lemons. If there is wax on them, be sure to get that off as well. Wax isn’t going to positively affect your limoncello, that’s certain.

2. Pour 2 cups of the vodka into a large jar. We recommend that you sterilize the jar beforehand as well as you can (we usually just boil it in water for about ten minutes) so you start with a fresh palate. It’s better if the jar can hold all of your finished product, so be sure to get one that can.

3. Zest/peel lemons. Get as much of the yellow peel and as little as the pith as you can. Put the peel in the jar with the lemons. Toss in the vanilla bean

Now, put the jar in a cool, dark place and out of sunlight for up to 6 weeks….

And we’re back!

1. On the stove top, heat water and sugar over medium-high heat (but not boiling) until they are completely combined and the mixture has started to thicken. Ours took about 4 minutes.

2. Once the sugar syrup is cool, combine it with the jar of goodness filled with lemony vodka. Take out the vanilla bean (unless you are going for a really strong vanilla flavor) add the rest of the vodka, and put the jar in a cool, dark place and out of sunlight for up to (another) 6 weeks….

Once it’s done, fine strain it to remove lemon peel, and put it in the container you will be storing it in before drinking.

Enjoy!

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