Limoncello, Part I

When life gives you lemons... drink limoncello!

A spoiler alert: anyone who is a friend or neighbor may soon discover what I'll be distributing for Christmas. I'm just saying.

In mid-August, what better activity is there than to stand in an air-conditioned kitchen and play with lemons and vodka? I mean, really!

I was working with a colleague on planning our office Christmas party, and we decided to host it at one of my favorite Denver restaurants, Venice, home to some of the most authentic Italian food I have experienced outside of Italy. My husband I went there shortly after our honeymoon, met the owner, and proceeded to be whisked right back to the tiny restaurants of Rome and the secret roadside gastronomes of Tuscany.

While dreaming up the Christmas party, we came across the idea of handing out Limoncello to our guests. Before you plan on crashing the party, no, this was too cost-prohibitive to really consider. So I decided to take it on as a project for holiday gifts.

With all that said... bring on the vodka!

First step, lemons. You'll need between 15 and 17 good sized lemons. You'll want lemons with skins as firm and unblemished as possible-- not too bumpy. I went to my local Costco and got a nice big bag of 15 hearty fruits for about 6 bucks.

Second step, alcohol. To be truly authentic, it is recommended that you use grain alcohol. I headed to another trusted Denver institution, Argonaut Liquors, and encountered that old college-party-fruit-punch staple, Everclear. To be completely honest, the warning on the bottle of the 190 proof alcohol's flammability made me a twee bit nervous... I sensed I would end up with a final product more akin to lemon Pledge than limoncello. They didn't have any of Everclear 151, so I opted for the next best thing, a bottle of grain-based, 100-proof vodka. You're going to need 1.5 litres for the amount of lemons listed above.

Brewing Day: This step is only as time-consuming as your water filter is fast. By that, I mean this: you are going to want to filter the vodka approximately four times... maybe I should say, at least four times. Why, I don't know. Quite frankly, at this point I should admit that I've never actually done this before; this is basically one big experiment at this point. I mean, I am working off some pretty solid sources, but everything thus far is based purely on the advice of others before me. So...proceed with caution, line up your water pitcher filter (Brita, Pur, or similar) and start filtering.

While your vodka is filtering, wash and gently scrub your lemons in warm water. You'll want to get any pesticides or wax off of them, as the zest is the only part of the lemon you use in brewing your limoncello. Once you've done that, get out your microplane zester and start zesting. You don't need to use much pressure, and it goes fairly quickly. Be sure to NOT get any of the white pith below the zest, you will risk having some very bitter limoncello. Now... keep those lemons! Just because they look a little naked, doesn't mean they are no longer useful. Bag them up in some gallon-sized ziploc bags, leave the bag cracked open a bit, and tuck in your fruit drawer in the fridge. Stay tuned for some delicious lemon-inspired recipes, this week.

Once you've got your alcohol filtered and your lemons zested, let the magic begin! Combine both in a pitcher that is at least 2-litres in size, and has a nice sealable lid. I like the hermetic jars for food storage in general, and think it's a perfect fit for this application. You can usually find them at the Container Store for about 8 to 10 bucks.

Now... once you've mixed your two ingredients, sit it on a shelf in your kitchen, and pick it up and shake it a little bit every other day for about a week or so. Once that week is done, head down to the basement and let it sit for at least 45 days. At this point, I'll put October 15th on my calendar... and publish Limoncello, Part Deux!

I'll keep you posted on how things progress from here; in the meantime, we'll do some fun salmon, chicken, and other lemon-based treats to use up our lemons.