Limoncello, take 2

Found this tread this morning and went out and found a bottle of 150 EC and 14 organic lemons. Zested lemons and got them infusing. What I’m asking is since this looks like 1/3 of his recipe what amount of syrup would you Putin to cut to 30% or what would give 25%. Thanks for any help

Use the calculators on A Personal Pilgrimage to Create the Perfect Limoncello

Decide what strength you want but right around 30% ABV is about right. Lower than that your bottles will be at higher risk of freezing in the freezer.

Careful with your syrup too. If it's 1:1, it will be too sweet (in my opinion). 2:1 is better (2 parts water, 1 part sugar). I'm at 5:2 now and that gives the Limoncello a bit more bite. You'll need to experiment.

I understand the making of the simple syrup. But how do you determine amount of syrup added to arrive at 30%. Here is 3 bottles we brought back from last trip to Italy and the infusion I started yesterday.

Yooper🍷 said:

I understand the making of the simple syrup. But how do you determine amount of syrup added to arrive at 30%. Here is 3 bottles we brought back from last trip to Italy and the infusion I started yesterday. View attachment 60908View attachment 60909

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The answer to your question lies in proper application of the Pearson's square. You know your volume of wine and it's ABV. You are going to end up with something with an ABV of 30% and you want to determine the volume of 0%ABV to add. I believe the program/app for your phone Fermcalc can help with the answer to this as well.

Yooper🍷 said:

I understand the making of the simple syrup. But how do you determine amount of syrup added to arrive at 30%. Here is 3 bottles we brought back from last trip to Italy and the infusion I started yesterday. View attachment 60908View attachment 60909

Click to expand...

Use the calculator. I made it easy for you:

https://limoncelloquest.com/limoncello-calculators/limoncello-alcohol-percentage-calculator

Thank you

Did my first Limoncello, 15 lemons, 1 bottle EC, 2 weeks extraction, used calculator for amount of simply syrup to bring down to 30%. Wife couldn’t tell diff from Italian. 2 750ml plus (4) 7 oz fever tree cleaned bottles for gifting w

Kraffty said:

For this go-around I used 3 750ml bottles of 95% abv Everclear. I used a potato peeler to take just the zest of 40 lemons (yellow part only as all recipes stress). After a week the lemon peels turned white and would snap in half when you bent them. The difference in the extraction between the different alcohols was amazing. I strained the extract through paper towels then diluted the extract at 1 part alcohol to 2 parts simple syrup (made from 1 part sugar to 2 parts water). Both versions ended up right at 30% abv but this one had a completely different taste. It was smoother right from the beginning. No harsh alcohol flavor and really beautiful color and even the density of color. I’ve stocked them away to mellow a few months more but they really are drinkable already.
Mike

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Mike (or anyone else), I never tried anything like this but I'm about to give it a try. A few questions which show how little I know. First, what do you mean by extraction? Is it just a matter of putting the zest in the Everclear? Second, when you describe the lemon peels snapping in a week, should I wait a week to add the zest or add them right away?

TonyP said:

Mike (or anyone else), I never tried anything like this but I'm about to give it a try. A few questions which show how little I know. First, what do you mean by extraction? Is it just a matter of putting the zest in the Everclear? Second, when you describe the lemon peels snapping in a week, should I wait a week to add the zest or add them right away?

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Tony, here is a little different version, but it might help if you have more than one and use a little of both.


6 lbs of lemons or more (enough lemons so the amount of Everclear just covers it)
1.75ltr Everclear (190 proof grain alcohol) 95%abv
simple syrup 4 cups suger, 8 cups water (1 part suger,2 parts water)

Drop lemons in boiling water ( one at a time ) for a second or two and the wax will come right off and floats to the top.
I then remove it and wipe it clean. I tried other methods but this worked the best for me.

Use a potato peeler to take just the zest off the lemons (yellow part only as all recipes stress)
The white part will make it very bitter.

Pour the EverClear into a gallon container or larger(with a tight lid).
Put in the lemon zest and tighten the lid
Shake once per day and should be kept in a dark place.
Do this for around 25 days or whenever the lemon is white and it is brittle.
Take out the lemons and discard.

Heat the simple syrup until it is almost boiling, stirring slowly.
Take off heat until cool.

You may need to put the Everclear in a large mixing bowl to mix.
Add most of the simple syrup and taste. Add more syrup and/or more water as needed.
to suit taste. Not to syrupy and not to high alcohol(should be about 30% when done).

Put in wine bottle with a twist cap. Should make about 5 bottles.
Keep 1 bottle in freezer until ready to drink


Use the calculators on A Personal Pilgrimage to Create the Perfect Limoncello

Decide what strength you want but right around 30% ABV is about right. Lower than that your bottles
will be at higher risk of freezing in the freezer.

TonyP said:

Mike (or anyone else), I never tried anything like this but I'm about to give it a try. A few questions which show how little I know. First, what do you mean by extraction? Is it just a matter of putting the zest in the Everclear? Second, when you describe the lemon peels snapping in a week, should I wait a week to add the zest or add them right away?

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Extraction refers to how much of the color and lemon flavor comes out of the peel (or zest) when it's in the Everclear. In this case, I think peel and zest are the same thing, just two different ways of getting the yellow part of the skin off the lemon. You can use a zester, which will give you a lot of little yellow pieces. Or, as Darrell suggested (and I recommend), use a potato peeler type of instrument to remove the yellow part of the skin. It's quicker and easier and you'll get larger pieces that will get 'crispy' after a week or two in the Everclear. They'll also go from bright yellow to white, with all that color now being in your liquid.

Those last two posts do a great and clear job of explaining the process. Some people also suggest filtering it with coffee filters but it seems to end up slightly opaque no matter if you filter or not so I don't bother any more. Reminds me, I think I need to break out a bottle this afternoon.
Mike

Kraffty said:

Those last two posts do a great and clear job of explaining the process. Some people also suggest filtering it with coffee filters but it seems to end up slightly opaque no matter if you filter or not so I don't bother any more. Reminds me, I think I need to break out a bottle this afternoon.
Mike

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In a different thread, @stickman correctly identified the source of the cloudiness, which is inherent to the product. (See quotes below.) I believe this argues that you do not WANT to filter it with coffee filters. Doing so would probably remove some of the goodness you worked so hard to get into your 'cello.

stickman said:

That was kind of my point also, citrus essential oils that provide aroma and flavor are extracted by the alcohol, but these oils are not soluble in water, so what you have is a dispersion of small droplets of oil creating the haze. The haze is more pronounced if the droplets are of larger size.

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sour_grapes said:

Ahh, the Ouzo effect! Ouzo effect - Wikipedia Good call, Stick!

Also see: "
Looking into Limoncello: The Structure of the Italian Liquor Revealed by Small-Angle Neutron Scattering" https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsomega.8b01858

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sour_grapes said:

In a different thread, @stickman correctly identified the source of the cloudiness, which is inherent to the product. (See quotes below.) I believe this argues that you do not WANT to filter it with coffee filters. Doing so would probably remove some of the goodness you worked so hard to get into your 'cello.

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Oil or not, it sure tastes good . Just ready to try a limecello, not sure if anyone tried that before.

Our limoncello went into bottles today. 151 EC, 5 pounds of lemons zested and peeled (some of each - my daughter zested, I peeled, ended up something like 16 lemons in five pounds), started with 1325 mL of alcohol. Sat on the zest for 49 days. Cut to 60 proof, netted just over eight 375 mL bottles:

Strained and filtered:
Limoncello by Scott, on Flickr

Sweetened:
Limoncello by Scott, on Flickr

Bottled and finished:
Limoncello by Scott, on Flickr

Very happy with how this turned out. Have a bottle in the freezer for tonight, and the ~1/3 bottle my daughter is using to make pound cake tonight. Looking forward to toasting the passing of Isaias tonight.

(Side note: There seems to be a shortage of 375 Belissima bottles, at least in this region. Couldn't find any clear, let alone frosted. Ended up finding the 375 stretch Hock frosted bottles at Keystone last weekend, and I think I'm happier with these than I would have been with t'other.)

Looks great. How do you mke the labels?

Thanks Mike. I make the labels in Publisher and copy them to a template in Word. I’ve pretty much standardized on Avery 94215 photo glossy labels for convenience. And I spend WAY too much time on 1001fonts.com...

nice looking cello!

Bliorg said:

Our limoncello went into bottles today. 151 EC, 5 pounds of lemons zested and peeled (some of each - my daughter zested, I peeled, ended up something like 16 lemons in five pounds), started with 1325 mL of alcohol. Sat on the zest for 49 days. Cut to 60 proof, netted just over eight 375 mL bottles:

Strained and filtered:
Limoncello by Scott, on Flickr

Sweetened:
Limoncello by Scott, on Flickr

Bottled and finished:
Limoncello by Scott, on Flickr

Very happy with how this turned out. Have a bottle in the freezer for tonight, and the ~1/3 bottle my daughter is using to make pound cake tonight. Looking forward to toasting the passing of Isaias tonight.

(Side note: There seems to be a shortage of 375 Belissima bottles, at least in this region. Couldn't find any clear, let alone frosted. Ended up finding the 375 stretch Hock frosted bottles at Keystone last weekend, and I think I'm happier with these than I would have been with t'other.)

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I just purchased 375 Bellisima bottles from Home Brew Ohio. NO shipping for orders over $50....................................Dizzy

Bliorg said:

Thanks Mike. I make the labels in Publisher and copy them to a template in Word. I’ve pretty much standardized on Avery 94215 photo glossy labels for convenience. And I spend WAY too much time on 1001fonts.com...

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How did you obtain/determine the "template"?............................Dizzy

DizzyIzzy said:

I just purchased 375 Bellisima bottles from Home Brew Ohio. NO shipping for orders over $50....................................Dizzy

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Thanks for that - decent shipping (better than my usual sources, though with the price of the bottles, probably a wash).