Limoncello Recipe

This limoncello recipe is a simple step-by-step guide to making your own limoncello at home! All you need is lemons, grain alcohol, sugar, water and lots of time!

Course Drinks

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 45

Total Time 60

Servings litres

Calories 1447kcal

Author Pina Bresciani

Ingredients

12 organic lemons
1 litre grain alcohol 190 proof (95% alcohol)
1 ½ litres water
3 ¼ cup granulated sugar

Instructions

Wash the lemons by scrubbing them with the rough side of a sponge. Dry them with a paper towel or tea towel.
Peel the lemons with a vegetable peeler, taking extra care to not leave too much pith (the white part of the lemon skin) on the peel. Too much pith will make the limoncello bitter.
Add the lemon peels to a large glass jar with a lid. Add the grain alcohol to the jar.
Store the jar in a cool dark place out of direct light (like a closet). Let the alcohol infuse for 30 days. Every few days, shake the mixture up a bit so the lemon peels move around.
Once the 30 days are over, prepare the simple syrup. Place the water in a pot and heat it over low heat. Once the water is slightly warm, add in the sugar, stir and let it dissolve completely. Once the sugar is dissolved, let the mixture cool completely to room temperature (a few hours).
Once the simple syrup has cooled, prepare a sieve with a coffee filter or cheese cloth inside. Place it over a large bowl and strain the alcohol-lemon peel mixture into the bowl, so that only the liquid collects in the bowl.
Add the simple syrup to the infused alcohol (it will go slightly cloudy) and stir with a wooden spoon. You now have limoncello!
With the help of a funnel, pour the limoncello into bottles.
Let the limoncello rest in a cool dry place out of direct light for 30 days. Letting the limoncello rest will allow the flavors to meld together and become smoother.

Video

Notes

It's best to use organic lemons. Organic lemons are not treated and coated with wax. This is especially important since limoncello uses just the peels.
When peeling the lemons, try to not peel the pith (white part) as well. If the pith comes off with the peel, I use a knife to scrape it off. Getting too much pith in your limoncello will make it bitter.
Infusion times vary between limoncello recipes. I suggest a 30 day infusion time, but some people infuse for as little as 7 days, or up to 2 months. A shorter infusion time will make the limoncello lighter and milder.
Once the limoncello has infused and been bottled, it should rest for another 30 days. This rest time allows the flavors to meld together and smoothen out.
You can use any bottle when bottling limoncello. Glass bottles work well, and so does plastic. Any lid is fine too. If however you are freezing the limoncello, a cork lid might not work the best since it expands when frozen.
This limoncello with the sugar amounts given won't be overly sweet. Try it out, and you can adjust the sugar amount to make it sweeter or less sweet depending on your preferences.
You can also try this recipe out, and depending on your preferences, you can adjust the alcohol to water ratios if you like limoncello stronger or weaker.
The grain alcohol I used was a 1L bottle. If your grain alcohol comes in a 750mL bottle, you can adjust the proportions of the lemons/water/sugar to account for the less alcohol: 9 lemons, 1.1L water, 2.5 cups sugar

Nutrition