Cucina Archive · Aperitivo · Digestivo

Limoncello

Lemon zest held in neutral spirit until it gives up its oil, then let down with simple syrup. Two ingredients and a wait, which is where the whole thing is decided.

C01 · Partial record · yields 1 litre

Two swing-top bottles and a mason jar of cloudy pale-yellow limoncello on a dining table, with a bowl of fruit behind them.
Two swing-top bottles and a mason jar of cloudy pale-yellow limoncello on a dining table, with a bowl of fruit behind them.

Formula

RatiosEverything scales off the weight of the alcohol, not its volume — proof and volume drift, weight does not.
Zest40 gper 100 g alcohol
Sugar50 gper 100 g alcohol
Waterequal weightto the alcohol
Worked exampleThe arithmetic behind the ratios, kept for checking the next batch against.
Organic lemons12yielded 203 g of zest
Zest used200 g200 ÷ 40 = 5 units of alcohol
Everclear 151500 g588 ml
Simple syrup385 ml250 g sugar, 250 g water
Water250 g
Yield1223 ml
One-litre bottleScaled to finish in a single 1000 ml bottle.
Everclear 151450 ml
Lemon zestby ratio40 g per 100 g of alcohol
Simple syrup550 mlfrom 600 ml water and 600 g sugar
Reserve50 mlsyrup held back to top the bottle to 1000 ml

Method

  1. Add the Everclear and all of the zest to a clean, dry Mason jar.

  2. Wait. The length of this is the open question on this record.

  3. On bottling day, make the simple syrup and leave it to cool, then refrigerate it. It must be cold going in.

  4. Strain the zest out as thoroughly as you can, then strain a second time.

  5. Pour into the final bottle and add simple syrup to fill.

  6. Age for the same period again before opening.

Notes

The syrup is made a little long on purpose. About 50 ml is held back and used to top the bottle to a full litre, which covers what is lost to evaporation and to whatever stays behind in the jar and the funnel.

Zest only. Any white pith carried over with it turns the finished bottle bitter, and no amount of resting takes that back out.

While it sat

A Ball Perfect Mason jar packed with strips of lemon zest steeping in clear spirit, the liquid already tinted yellow.
A Ball Perfect Mason jar packed with strips of lemon zest steeping in clear spirit, the liquid already tinted yellow.
The same jar later in the maceration, the zest paled and the spirit deepened to a strong yellow.
The same jar later in the maceration, the zest paled and the spirit deepened to a strong yellow.

Ratios cross-checked against the Cocktail Chemistry dilution calculator. https://www.cocktailchemistrylab.com/calculator