Fatti in casa Lemoncello

Yes, I did it!

I made Lemoncello!

(No that is not me - wise asses)

We had such an amazing fall crop of lemons from our lemon tree I decided 'why not!'...
It is truly an easy and fun thing to do. Since I do not like to waste things, after making the lemoncello (which only uses the rind/zest of the lemons) I made homemade lemon bars too. But that is a different story and recipe.
This posting is 'How to make lemoncello', so here we go...
First I should let you know that I searched the internet and asked around for a good recipe and decided to combine a few to make our homemade 'hooch'.
So here is the recipe (following the recipe will be step-by-step instructions with photos)

Ingredients:
   8-10 Lemons (fresh grown or Organic are recommended) *
   1 ltr of 95% proof alcohol **
   1 ltr of filtered Water
   3 cups of White Sugar (regular everyday sugar is considered the best)
   A little time
   A lot of Patience

Yeah - that's it - simple and delicious - like the final product itself!

* - A few recipes use 8-10 Lemons with 1-2 Oranges. It is supposed to make it smoother and sweeter. I will let you know I did this with my second batch. Also, you can use the same recipe and replace the Lemons with Oranges or Limes - to make the 'cello' version of them. Experiment and enjoy!

** - Grain alcohol or 95% alcohol is pretty easy to find in the supermarkets here but I know it is not that easy in the states. Many recipes call for Everclear (which I have seen in the states and may try) or they use a high proof Vodka (haven't and will not try that).

Preparation:
   - Wash and dry the lemons, then peel them. Make sure that you just get the yellow part NO white (called the pith) - this will cause bitterness in the final product. When peeling you can use a vegetable peeler (my choice) or a small knife. Some recipes call for large pieces, some for small pieces, and other for just the zest using a micro-plane. I have made 2 batches - one with large pieces and one with small pieces - I will let you know how each works out.
   - Place the peels in a large air-tight jar (approximately 2 ltrs in size). I use a wide-mouth Swingtop jar (you will see a picture below).

Peels waiting to get drunk...

Now we wait...

  - Simply add the entire 1ltr bottle of 95% proof alcohol into the air-tight jar, stir gently and seal her up. Now is where the first waiting period and patience come in. Recipes vary in the time you should let this mixture sit. It has been a low as 10 days and as long as 40 days. Keep the container in a cool (not cold) dark place. This will allow the alcohol to extract the oils from the peels creating the lemon infusion.
   - Every 2-3 days open the jar and gently stir the mixture around. This is supposed to insure that alcohol permeates all the lemon peels. During any part of this stage you can test the lemon peels for 'done-ness'. If the lemon peels are still flexible then they still have oils in them, continue to let it sit. If you test the lemons and they are what is referred to as 'lemon chips', meaning they are crisp and break like a potato chip when bent - the time is up! (Note: you can continue to let them sit if you want. I only started testing the peels after a minimum of 15 days had past).
   - After enough time has past or you are satisfied that the lemon infusion has sat long enough - we can now move on to the next step...

Lemon infusion is ready for next step...

Simple syrup on its way...

   - Time to make 'simple syrup' - simply dissolve the sugar in the water. Some recipes warn against boiling the mixture and others do not care. I decided to heat the water and sugar mixture until the sugar was fully dissolved but not boiling. Set aside to cool. Time to wait again - the simple syrup mixture must be a room temperature before you can add it to the lemon infusion.

Lemon Peel Chips...

Time to make the donuts...

 (A quick video on this stage...)

   - While you are waiting you can strain the lemon peels out of the lemon infusion mixture. I simply used a wire-strainer to do this. After that I needed to filter the liquid further (many recipes recommend this to get more impurities out - it ultimately looks like a very yellow clear liquid). You will need a 3ltr clean jar (again I used a wide mouth Swingtop jar), a funnel, and #4 coffee filters (a few of them). Place the funnel in the mouth of the new jar, dampen a coffee filter, and place that in the funnel. Using a ladle, scoop the infusion into the filtered funnel and let it drain into the 3ltr jar (Note: if the filter gets 'gunked up', remove it gently, throw the filter and the remaining liquid away. Dampen, replace the filter in the funnel and continue to filter). Once you have completed this step, wait for the simple syrup to cool and then move on...

Lemon infusion...

Time to mellow!

   - Now that you have a filtered lemon infusion and the COOLED simple syrup - just add the syrup to the infusion, stir to combine, seal the jar, and return this liquid to the cool dry place for approximately 40 days. The liquid is now a cloudy yellow-white color. This will allow the mixture to begin its mellowing process and become Lemoncello!
   - Last step before being able to enjoy the fruits of your labor! After the 40 days you need to do another filtering. This time it will be into the jars you are ultimately going to store, serve, or gift in. In the same fashion as the earlier step - place a funnel with a dampened coffee filter (in this case I used the #2 filters) in the mouth of your storage bottles and ladle the liquid gold into it.

The final tools are ready...

...start the final bottling...

Batch 1 - Filtered, bottled, labeled...Now freeze and enjoy!

Last thing I have to talk about is the labeling:
   - Create your own label if you are gifting your creation (like the one at the beginning of this posting & on my bottles). Be proud of what you have accomplished and enjoy making a great label.
   - Please remember to mark on your label that it is a gift and not for resale. You would not like the ATF showing up at your door and arresting you as a bootlegger. Also, if you like you can add that the contents are 45% alcohol by volume.

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The rest is all enjoying...
Remember Lemoncello is best stored in (& served from) the freezer as a digestive after dinner. It is also great on Vanilla/Creame Ice Cream, Shaved Ice or just as an Aperitif.

Otherwise, like Tom & I, just Enjoy it! Salute! CinCin! Lunga Vita!
PS - Batch 2 will be ready soon...

More than anything I hope this posting makes you want to create your own batch of Lemoncello. If you do pass some along - We would love to try it!