Look forward to reading a review soon!

1. peels vs. gratings: peels retain more of the oils; gratings increase the surface area but may lose a lot to the air while grating. possible ideal solution–put peels in a blender then immediately put them in the alcohol (maximum surface area = reduced infusion time)

2. 3mos infusion time may not be necessary, especially with gratings. need testing.

3. bob’s idea- make use of inverted sugars (phase-reversed sugars that lose their ability to bind to each other, a la rock candy). How to: Add max. 1tbsp lemon juice to the sugar/water, simmer (little bubbles…) for 1hr? i think. not sure of his intention here.

4. aim for 50% alcohol in the final product. Before extra dilution, mine would have measured approximately: 750ml everclear : 590ml (2.5cups) water = 56% alc = 112 proof (This doesn’t account for loss during filtration, nor the sugar’s influence.)

Cheers !
Mark

recipe and documentation across so many batches, felt comfortable taking on the task which

has grown into a passion (er..addiction) for the stuff.

But I wanted to write and tell you about a problem I had with the 2 batches I made. I followed your basic recipe, using 2 bottles 151proof EC for EACH batch (filtered 7x thru Britta), with microplaner zester, with these details:

BATCH#1 started 8/8/09
- about 25 organic lemons from WholeFoods = 85g zest
- added 20g fresh grated ginger (experiment)

BATCH#2 started 8/31/09
- Sunkist Meyer non-organic lemons, soaked & scrubbed 15min, = 100g zest

…on 11/10/09 I added the 5cups sugar water (distilled):3.5 cups white refined sugar (your proportions) to each double-batch. I did not filter the zest out at this time, and I think according to standard winemaking process, that I should have. Instead I let the limoncello sit like this, with zest & sugarwater for another week or so.

…11/19/19 final filtration through white paper towels and natural brown coffee filters. (I will definitely filter with a fine mesh bag first, to get out the major solids, next time!)

CONCLUSIONS:
I had scrubbed each batch of lemons pretty seriously with veggiewash & a hard sponge, and I think maybe it was too much. Perhaps I lost some zest doing this, and threw the balance/chemistry off. It’s a theory.

Immediate reaction from friends (drinkers, including some local winemaker friends): excellent strong fruit but overly strong alcohol burn. Everyone concluded that it needed (and could probably hold up to) additional dilution. (I had followed your recipe for dilution.) At this point instead of adding more sugarwater, i just diluted it to taste with Fiji water. At this point the limoncello turned from relatively clear & dark, to cloudy and lighter in color (more like how a friend of mine’s, who makes & sells his). I think a proper dilution would give a more ‘integrated’/homogenized taste, as this does taste just a bit ‘diluted’/flabby. but overall i’m very happy with it, since I like my drinks on the dry side, not sweet at all.

Friends’ tastes were divided about 50-50 between the clean, sharp, slight additional tinge/bite of the ginger batch (very subtle…i would triple this if you want to taste the ginger) and the softer, richer more orangey Meyer batch. Personally I prefer the latter, but I thoroughly enjoy both.

But I’m stumped on whether 1. the scrubbing took off too much zest, or 2) you & i have very different tastes (you like it THAT much stronger, unlikely).

I hope this helps some of your readers, and please feel free to email me with any feedback you might have for my next batch. Thank you again Ben for the site & all of your research ! This was an immensely satisfying project and probably a gateway for homemade Kahlua and other fun adult beverages.

Mark
oakland, CA

Meyer Lemons are much more delicate to work with and of course the other ingredients used in limoncello also have a considerable effect on the final taste of the product.

Remember, in every recipe the main ingredient is the the chef.

Napacello, wont taste as lemony/tart as the sorrento or eureka versions, but it may convince you that the Meyer Lemon version is just as good if not better for some. It tastes more like a fine desert wine with fruity-sweet lemon flavors than a liqueur and has a much higher diversity in terms of mixing in cocktails.

Personally, anything made with lemons is a good thing. Keep up the quest.

Cheers!