Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

This is a recipe my aunt gave me for Limoncello - she got it from relos in Southern Italy

1 Litre Neutral 80%-95%
14 Lemons
1kg Sugar
1 Litre Water

1) Using a potato peeler remove the rind from the lemons - trying not to take any white part
2) Put the rind into the neutral for 7-10 days
3) Dissolve sugar in the water (you will need to heat the water to dissolve)
4) Strain the neutral into the sugar solution and mix
5) Allow to cool and bottle

This will make about 2250ml
I've given this to some seasoned limoncello drinkers and they have said its really good
I personally found it a little too sweet / syrupy so will make it again with less sugar
Cheers

Edit: Have specified neutral percentage - higher alcohols are better for dissolving oils from the lemon peels

This thread has been started for any one wishing to discuss the making of Limoncello
The original Tried and Proven recipe can be found in the Tried and Proven section of the forum or by clicking HERE

Forgot to mention I keep mine in the freezer. Some also keep their glasses in the freezer too.

Cheers

Thanks for the recipe Brigand , Just wondering what % ABV the 1 Litre of Neutral should be. I read somewhere that the stronger it is when soaking the lemon rind the better as it extracts more lemon flavor and oils,other recipes state 50% abv.
SBB

I used 85% as that was all I had but have heard that higher is better for maceration

From my understading it's usually served at 40% odd

Cheers

I like the sound of this and will give it a go, got a heap of vodka that needs something done with it :)

Looks like a good recipe mate.

I busted out a bottle of lemoncino very similar to this recipe at a local bbq a few months back and it was very popular with the punters.

Very easy to go too hard with these types of liqueurs, I cant remember getting home after the bottle was emptied ..... I was wasted big time. :roll:

Tasty drink though, even better out of the freezer..

I started a half sized batch of this Monday night. It smells very lemony already and the 92% neutral I used has turned an awesome yellow color. I didn't imagine things would happen so quickly. I did cheat and used 1 extra lemon....I read somewhere that its hard to use to much lemon skin when making Lemoncello
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Just finished bottling my first batch of Lemoncello. This stuff is really tasty, my son and Mrs both say it is better than the imported bottle I bought a while ago....I tend to agree. The finished product is almost canary yellow much much brighter than the photo shows. I cant see this bottle lasting very long. I think the next batch will be much bigger. Your recipe is a definite keeper Brigand :D
I'm also pretty stoked that this is the first thing Ive made were nothing at all came from a home brew shop.
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The yellow spirit before filtering ....again the true color doesn't show. :(


The finished product

SBB,

Mow your bloody lawn :lol: :lol: :lol:

Havnt got time.....to busy making grog :lol: ....besides that its been so bloody wet ya could bog a duck out there...let alone a mower :(

Why is it opaque in the second shot? Is it cause it's from the freezer or does it need settling and refiltering?

Looks exceptionally yummy btw, the lemonade tree here has 50-80kg of fruit as usual i'll have to try this in a couple of weeks when the skins turn yellower. 8-)

I am thinking the second shot has had the sugar added? I am getting 10 lemons of a fella I know this afternoon and some empty bottles. Just need to buy a zester, might have to check out woolies this afternoon on the way home. I like this type of stuff you make from scratch and natural ingredients......

Found my lemons but cant reach them over the fence :roll: will have to wait for the neighbor to get home in a few days and ask him :lol:

Cheers.

I think the cloudiness is to do with the oils from the lemons

Looking good though

Cheers

5Star wrote:Why is it opaque in the second shot? Is it cause it's from the freezer or does it need settling and refiltering?

5Star it went that way after I added the sugar syrup....I was a bit worried about it and did a bit of research on HD. It seems according to some, that the cloudiness indicates that you have extracted shitloads of flavor and citrus oils from your skins and is a good thing. It has something to do with emulsification I think. Cant find the exact bit to quote from at this moment but will do later.

Spud I used a somewhat unorthodox method to peel the skin off my lemons....tried a zester....was bloody fiddly....tried a potato peeler ...went to deep and got white pith :( ........ending up using my trusty corn scraper/ plane :lol: ya can buy these at any chemist....worked like a charm ;) they come with about 6 spare very sharp blades. See photo below
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corn scraper, ok haven't been to Woolies yet, I'll check out the chemist when I go out tonight. I thought zesting the lemons may get painful :)

Thanks for that, good tip for new players i.e me

Cool, still lokks excellent too.

never seen one of those implements before, but will be buying one.

i usually just use a sharp knife, peel the citrus and then fillet the pith off.


PithOffBrucePunkin

Ok here is the link I was looking for re cloudy lemoncello..... http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =4&t=18096 Not sure if its the done thing here posting links from other forums , if not let me know.
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SBB wrote: Not sure if its the done thing here posting links from other forums , if not let me know.
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All good mate, we arent going to stop you guys sharing info even if we cant post our link over there ;)

Cheers.

Well we got over the fence today and got some lemons, peeled em and on vodka :mrgreen:

Cant wait to try this.