Frequently Asked Questions

I’m also interested in trying the suspension method, keep us updated please when you try it, or anyone who has tried it let us know!

Thanks,

Karen

Hi, I have been using your method for quite some time with great outcomes. However, my current batch is not as “lemony” as usual and leaves a serious alcohol after burn and unpleasant taste/mouth feel. I am sure that all of my proportions are correct and think that maybe it is due to the lemons not being ripe enough or something. At any rate, I have about 11,000 ml and would love a recommendation to enhance the taste and make it more palatable before I bottle it. Much thanks, Andrew

You used to have a recipe for limoncello with cream instead of simple syrup. I make your limoncello with lemons from my tree for the past several years and it has been delicious!! I would like to try the cream this year. Have you given up on that?

I am on my second batch of lemon cello. Headed to Italy, so got inspired????. My question is , do you have a wonderful lemonade recipe that I can use with all the juice. I want something that is like the old recipes I had as a child from the county fairs. Like a lemon shake up.. I am going to freeze the juice, but miss the small town flavor of old fashioned lemonade. Thanks.Jenny

How well does the limoncello stay mixed after it’s mixed with the simple syrup? I assume there’s no problem with the mixture separating since you never mention this? (I always assume alcohol floats to the top in a mixture, so I compulsively stir my cocktails when I probably shouldn’t.)

The second 45 day waiting period probably helps the process. I’m excited to make my first batch of this soon.

Thoughts on zest vs peeling?

Question:

It is now my fourth batch of limoncello and the best tasting yet. Now, after 9 months, it has lost the murky yellow colour be become almost transparent. It looks like the oils have coalesced into droplets. Why is that? It never happened before.

If it can help answer he question, here is my recipe: Zest of 15 pounds of lemons (almost no white at all) into 1.5 litres of Everclear. Infuse for 5 months and obtain 1.4 litres of extract. Filter with coffee filter. Add 2.1 litres of simple sirup with 0.5 sugar to 1 water by volume to bring the alcohol to 30%. The sugar level is relatively low but not as low as some of the most dry commercial ones.

I made a batch of limoncello with vodka and simple syrup. Stored in fridg for 4 months. A cloudy mass has formed floating in the top half of the bottle. Doesn’t smell. Is this just oils or do I have a colony of bacteria growing?

I’m making my first batch ever using 10 lemons, their juice and 750 ml Everclear.
Planning to age it 1 month but I’m not certain exactly WHERE I should do this
Where I live my basement is dark with consistent temperature around 68 degrees
I can also age it in the house (near or away from a window) with similarly stable temperatures.
I’ve seen a local Sicilian restaurant aging theirs on a windowsill, but I’ve also read that if should be done in the basement.
Which do you recommend?
Any information you can share with this total novice would be appreciated
-ALM-

Question…can the limoncello be bottled then let it sit, or does it really need to sit before putting it in smaller bottles to gift?

Aloha, went to look for your calculators today and they disappeared. I use them a lot. Will you be bringing them back or is something wrong with the website, or maybe on my end.

Aloha
nakia

I made some blood orangecello last night using the sous vide method and using just the zest from a planer. It turned out smooth and good-tasting, but not as thick as store-bought lemoncello. Why is that? (Recipe – 1/4 cup home-grown blood orange zesting, ~4 cups 100 proof moonshine alcohol; sous vide for 3 hrs at 135dF; powdered standard sugar and cooked into simple syrup with filtered water; then strained the alcohol contents and mixed in cooled simple syrup.)

Hey just a quick Q about the calculator. How does the sweetness calculation part work? In the top part it says I need 2000ml of syrup (1L of 96% liqour to get 32% in the end). But then the bottom part says I need less than 2000ml of water to make the syrup. Is this correct?

Furthermore, is there any indication you can give as to a sort of ideal or normal brix level of sweetness for the limoncello that your make? From what I’ve read online, people go from 1:2 to 1:1 when it comes to sugar and water ratios. Quite a difference. So im curious to see what you think 🙂

My Limoncello is too strong. How do I dilute it without losing the lemon taste?
Second, can I add lemon zest to the limoncello after it’s made to improve the lemon flavour?

I bought limoncello in Sorrento to pour into swing top small bottles for bridal shower favors. It’s almost October, the shower is in April. When can I make favors, how should I store them?

I loved your limoncello alcohol and sweetness calculator and used it all the time to make limoncello, However it no longer displays properly on any of my devices and So it can’t be used. Is there anything I can do to make it work again?

I followed the long version recipe and I am at day 45. The mixture is very, very, very strong. Will it settle over the next 45 days or should I be adding water? Simple syrup? I am afraid I’ll lose the lemon favor by diluting. Lemon juice? Help?

Curious what brix level you use for your limoncello. (Using your calculator.) I can’t seem to find any commentary on this.

Forgive my ‘beginner’ comment, but how can I reduce the sharp flavor of the alcohol? Should I just get a lower proof? I’m looking for at least half the ‘tang’ of the strong liquor flavor. The discussions about alcohol percentage calculator is over my head and shooting for 30% is a bit over my experience level.

Thank you!

Hello!
Maybe it’s a stupid question, but does it make any difference if one immediately decants the sugar/alcohol mixture into individual bottles and then let them rest for 45 days or does the second rest period need to be done as a single batch? Reason I ask is that I was planning on giving theses as gifts to friends while they are still in town. (I would just tell them Do not open until Christmas!)