Our limoncello was started 19 days ago. It is wonderful to see the color change from clear to a deep yellow. The color is rich, like goldenrod.
I've always loved limoncello - its a perfect finish to a meal, sweet and thick, yet the citrus makes it so refreshing. A wonderful Italian digestivo. We started with a very small trial batch, and if it comes out well, which it seems as though it will, some of our dearest and fondest friends might be getting a little taste for Christmas.
Looking through numerous recipes, we couldn't find an agreed upon time span to let the lemon peel steep in the alcohol. Some advocated for a shorter time - about a week or two - others reccomended a month or two, saying that the longer the flavors had to sit, the better, richer and smoother the resulting limoncello. Hence the trial batch. We tasted it at 10 days, and the lemon seemed to still have too much of a bite to it, so we're letting it sit longer.
The most challenging part is tracking down Everclear (no, not the band from the 90s), a grain alochol that is 190 proof. To give you an idea of how strong that is, an average vodka is 100 proof, so it is almost double that. It is very difficult to find, as it is prohibited in most states. We purchased a sizeable bottle, since, as I mentioned, we have plans to produce it for Christmas gifts. It was at a liquor store off the highway in Maryland, at about 9pm at night. I felt like a rebellious high schooler that was up to no good.
Limoncello becomes cloudy once the sugar syrup is added. The addition of the sugar and water is essential not only for the flavor, but also to make the limoncello drinkable. Otherwise, it would be a very tart, very strong 190 proof cocktail.
We'll try it again in a few days and see how its coming along. If anyone has made limoncello before and has some tips, please, send them my way.
