Limoncello

TheHusband is up to something. He's gone off on a wild tangent and is now brewing his own beer. Yes, you heard that right. Which is all good and well, but what most people tend to forget is that I'm the one who has to deal with a yeasting monster in my kitchen. The beer that is, not TheHusband. Although his enthusiasm does sometimes seem rather yeast-like in its infectiousness. 

But TheHusband's enthusiasm is not the point of this story. 

The point is that aah, well... it seems we've become a duo of drinkies. As complement to foodies, you see. 

TheHusband with his beer and yours truly with the likes of Coquito, Springbokkies and now Limoncello. I had my first sip of Limoncello back in 2005. It was the year after TheHusband and I had met and we were celebrating his brother's graduation from film school with a modest family get together at his aunt's  place. The food was fabulous, but the best was saved for last: said aunt hauled out a bottle of Limoncello for after-dinner digestifs. It was the real thing, bought on one of their travels to Italy. And the taste bowled me over. Beautifully lemon-y, with just the right amount of kick. I was sold.

Alas, Limoncello is rather expensive in bottle stores and so it was one of those things we saved for high days and holidays. Until I stumbled across a recipe for homemade Limoncello. I immediately set out to make a batch and then proceeded to give away half of the batch as Christmas gifts. And... erm... well we kinda drank the rest before I could get around to take photos of it. In fact, this batch almost didn't make it either. 

I made this nearly a year after my first try and it's just as fantastic as I remembered. Except I used brown sugar this time. Wrong move. Don't get me wrong, the taste is pretty much the same, it's just the colour that's a tad off. But hey, when you're closing your eyes in bliss, no-one pays much attention to the colour of the drink anyway, right?

Limoncello
Adapted from About.com
Makes 1.3 litres

Remember to start this roughly a month before you want to drink it. Trust me, it's worth the wait.

8 lemons
750ml bottle Vodka
2 1/4 cups white sugar
2 1/2 cups water


1. Peel lemons, taking care not to include the white pith. Reserve lemons for another use, then add peels to half of the vodka. Cover and place in the fridge for 2 weeks to infuse.
2. Heat sugar and water together in a medium saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Allow to cool before adding to the lemon peel mixture, along with the rest of the vodka. Cover and return to the fridge for another 2 weeks. 
3. Strain limoncello and discard the lemon peels, then decant into bottles. Serve ice cold.