80-Day Limoncello is a smooth, sweet lemon liquor that can easily be made at home with just lemons, vodka, simple syrup, and time, 80-days time to be exact.
When <3M and I visited Italy a few years back, I loved how the little family-owned restaurants we dined at ended each meal by serving a small glass of limoncello. It was served perfectly chilled and was enough just enough for 3-4 sips — the ideal ending to a rich meal.
And, unlike the limoncello I had previously in the States, this limoncello was smooth with a crisp lemon flavor and a balance of sweetness.
After returning home, I had limoncello on my bucket list as something I wanted to make but it wasn’t until last year that I actually set about researching limoncello and the process.
What I found was that it’s ridiculously simple to make.
Limoncello is nothing more than vodka, lemon rinds, simple syrup, and time. After reviewing tons of recipes about limoncello, I decided I wanted to make it the more traditional way, using 100-proof vodka and steeping the lemon peels in the vodka for 80-days to ensure tons of lemony flavor which attributes to its name, 80-day Limoncello.
The peels of 48-lemons. It took me a couple of hours…
And, since sometimes I get overly ambitious in the kitchen, I decided I was not only going to make limoncello for <3M and I but I was going to make enough limoncello to gift all our friends for the holidays. The recipe I’m sharing below is good for 1-liter of vodka and once the simple syrup’s added, you’ll have just under 2-liters total for keeping or giving away.
Thank you Twin Liquor Dollar Sale for saving us money on these liters of vodka
For my own doing, I quadrupled the recipe to make twelve 12-ounce bottles of limoncello (with still plenty leftover for <3M and I to stash away for our own sipping). Let’s just say, I highly overestimated how much limoncello I’d needed to make. But I’m not complaining.
Here are a few tips for making 80-Day Limoncello:
- You can use 100-proof vodka or higher grain alcohol, like Everclear, if you want an extra kick to your limoncello. I went with vodka because Everclear is a bit too much for my personal taste.
- Choose organic lemons and make sure you wash and rinse them well before use. I recommend organic because whatever chemicals are on your lemons will end up in your limoncello and you’ll want it to be as clean, pure, and smooth as possible.
- Since you’ll only be using the peels, you can juice your lemons afterward and save the lemon juice by freezing it. I froze mine in ice cube trays. It’s great for making these ridiculously delicious lemon bars with raspberry sauce.
- When peeling the lemons, be careful not to get too much of the white pith. The white pith is bitter and you don’t want your limoncello to be bitter.
- Be sure to make the limoncello in a large, clean, sanitized glass jar. I used this giant, 64-ounce mason jar and it worked perfectly. It was also great when making kombucha.
When it comes to sweetening & bottling your 80-day Limoncello:
- The best part about making limoncello at home is that you have complete control over the sweetness. My recommendation is to start with less simple syrup, let everything sit for the final 40-days, then taste again and adjust by adding more syrup right before bottling and declaring it done.
- While infusing for 80-days, your limoncello is bound to have small particles of lemon in it that broke off from the main peels. To ensure a clear, clean limoncello, use a cheesecloth to filter the limoncello as you bottle it.
- If you’re looking for cute bottles to bottle your limoncello, I found these and absolutely love them. They’re beautiful with a rubber stopper and not too big for bottling and sharing your limoncello.
Best of luck! And if you start your limoncello now, you’ll have it with plenty of time to spare for holiday gift-giving.
If you’re looking for some more alcohol options, try this unique Smoked Cardamom Old Fashioned recipe using curried rye as a base.
- 12 organic lemons, washed, rinsed, and dried
- 1-liter 100-proof vodka
- 4 cups of water
- 3 cups granulated sugar
Recommended 'equipment'- a large glass jar that can be covered and has been properly sanitized
- bottles for storing the completed limoncello
- cheesecloth
- funnel
- Using a paring knife, peel the lemon rind away from the flesh, careful not to remove too much fo the white pith. Place the peel in the large glass bottle or jar (enough to hold at least 60-ounces of liquid)
- Pour the vodka over the lemon peels, give it all a good stir, secure the top and place the jar is a dark, cool location where it can sit undisturbed for 40-days to infuse
- After 40-days, combine the water and sugar in a large saucepan and bring to boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool completely
- Add half the simple syrup to the vodka & lemon peels, stirring to combine. Taste the mixture and add more syrup if a sweeter flavor is desired. (Remember, you can adjust sweetness again after the second infusion)
- Cover the jar and place it back in a cool, dry place to sit undisturbed for 40 more days
- After 40 days (80 days total), taste your limoncello. If it's still not sweet enough for you, make more simple syrup, following the instructions from earlier, and continue to add the syrup to the limoncello until the desired sweetness is reached.
- Bottle your limoncello in clean, dry, sanitized bottles, discarding the lemon peel. To remove all lemon peel and the small particles that may have broken off while infusing, place a small square of cheesecloth over a funnel and strain your limoncello through it.
- We keep a bottle of limoncello in our freezer, storing it there for whenever we want a little something sweet after dinner.