I’ve purchased quite a bit of limoncello over the years. I’ve hand-crafted far more, but I have been on a mission to test out as many commercial limoncello brands as I can get my grubby hands on. So I know a thing or two about buying limoncello and will share that with you lovely readers.
Where Can I Buy Limoncello?
The widest variety of Limoncello is available from online vendors such as Total Wine and More. However, that only works if they can legally ship to your state which is very often not the case. If you live in an area where they can’t deliver, it’s best to find the largest liquor store in your area and look there.
Aside from price, which we’ll address, there aren’t a lot of concerns here—but there are a few. Read on for my semi-professional limoncello acquisition tips.
Don’t Assume You Can’t Buy Online
The very first thing to check is whether you can buy liquor online. Liquor laws vary from state to state in the US so check the rules in your local area. If you’re able to purchase online, that’s definitely where you’ll get the best prices and also where you’ll find the largest selection by far.
There are plenty of states where it’s fine to purchase limoncello online and have it delivered to your house. Unlike wine, beer and other perishable items, it’s kind of hard to hurt limoncello in transit unless you break the bottle.
If You Can’t Buy Online…
The next best thing is to purchase in your local area. Depending on how rural your area is, this may be more or less difficult. If you have a large liquor store in your area, they will usually have at least a small selection of limoncello brands. I’ve found that small to medium stores often carry two to four brands of limoncello, and some super stores might carry a dozen.
If there’s a certain brand of limoncello you’d like to try, you can always ask the liquor store in your area to acquire it for you and they might be able to do so. The trick will be how to sell the rest of it in a small rural store, so they may insist that you buy a case or something like that. If you’re truly in a rural area, it may also make sense to wait until you travel. Airport liquor stores often have at least some limoncello on hand.
Freshness Matters
The other big consideration with local limoncello from small stores is how long it’s been sitting there. Many times I’ve seen bottles of limoncello in small stores that literally had dust on them. So how long did they sit there? How long did they sit in the storage room before that? Limoncello lasts a long time but not forever—it loses some of its character over time—so you want a bottle produced in the past year or two.
FAQs
Q: Can I get (fill in the blank) brand of limoncello in my area?
A: If you can order online, then almost certainly yes. If not, then it may be quite difficult. Your best bet is to try to get your local liquor store to order it for you.
Q: Where can I get the best deal on limoncello?
A: Online, for sure. Again, if that doesn’t work for you then price shopping probably won’t be an option. You’ll be lucky enough just to find it. What you can sometimes find are “nip” sized bottles of limoncello as samples. This is a great way to try different brands.
Q: Where can I find the best selection of limoncello?
A: The best selection I’ve seen thus far is from Total Wine and More. That’s a fairly regional chain and operates in my area. I’m sure more research would turn up others if you do some Googling.
