I thought about doing them Julienne, but figured the standard would suffice. Might do that next to at least speed up the process and maybe even get more flavor from them.

Anybody think some kind of herbal limoncello would be good? Not sure what kind of herb would be good though. Maybe a limoncello/mead? Since lemon and honey goes well together. Not sure how that would work out though. Use a little honey to replace some of the sugar.

put some ginger in with it

All done. Letting it chill in the freezer right now. Color looks good, pale yellow, clarity is right in the middle of cloudy and clear. I ended up using 750ml Everclear, 12 lemons, 4.5 cups water and 4.5 cups sugar. Making the final product about 31% alcohol, so about 62 proof. Putting it right around the potency of my favorite, Jager. I may end up mixing it all back into a pot and thinning it further if it's not an easy to drink, drink. Maybe add an extra cup of each sugar and water.

Ended up with 2 bottles that size full, and another about 1/2 full.

Attachment 191281

I did have to go back and mix it back together and thin it further with straight water. I thought it was too sweet and syrupy, and the alcohol was still a bit harsh. I added an additional 3 cups of water. I wish I had used about a cup less of sugar, because even thinning it with water, the sugar overpowers the lemon flavor a bit.

All a learning process. I probably won't even drink much of it myself, I will give it away. I just enjoy making things and sharing it.

see that's what bugs me about shortening the lemon extraction. even the diminishing returns are important.

Yeah, I may use more lemons and a full two weeks next time. I don't think much more could have come from the peel I had though. Maybe up my lemon count from 12 to 15, or 18 for a true dozen and a half. Also right from the start I will use slightly less sugar and slightly more water. The 1/3 ratio to me is WAY too syrupy and sweet. I'd probably go with closer to 1/4 alcohol, 5/16 sugar and 7/16 water.

I tried a limoncello and cranberry juice mix and it was pretty decent. Interesting little sipper drink, if you want a gay drink to match your gay Miata.

Is it possible to carbonate such a beverage? I'm partial to sparkling waters and juices.

Could always make it strong (use less water) and pour it over sparkling water, or any kind of carbonated water. I actually might try that. Mine could stand to even be thinned a bit more, and I have some club soda, which might somehow enhance the flavor (I doubt it). I do prefer carbonated lemon drinks, so maybe this will help make mine easier to drink.

EDIT:

You're on to something. I just made a club soda and limoncello on ice, with a few drops of lemon juice for tart, and that shit drinks pretty well. I like it! Mixed it about half and half. Almost like an alcoholic Fresca in taste, maybe mixed with a little bit of lemon lime alka-seltzer.

limoncello isn't supposed to be thin. It's supposed to be thick like cold cough syrup and bite you with alcohol and subtle lemon.

or at least that's what they do in Italy.

It's still thick compared to other drinks, and it still has a bit of bite. It's just not one of my favorite flavors. No alcohol to me really tastes very good. The time I had it before, I was already a bit drunk, so it probably did taste pretty damn good. I have plenty of alcoholic friends I can give it away to, which was kind of my original intent anyway, I'm not much of a drinker.

I've made a bunch of different liqueurs in a similar manner and found that vodka made a better base than everclear. Even though it's a neutral spirit I never could get rid of the "everclear" taste.

I'm not even sure what "everclear taste" means. mix the everclear 50/50 with distilled water and i bet it goes away.

OK so why I posted:

I just pulled my arancello (orange-cello) out of the freezer after bottling a little up a week or so early. I'm a little disappointed compared to the limoncello. the orange is a little too bitter and medicinal though the texture and initial mouthfeel are pretty good.

it leaves me with a tingly mouth that's a little numb which is weird. I dont remember the limoncello doing that. it's not completely objectionable, but it's a little weird.

was a fun experiment though.

Everclear/graves has a kind of sweet chemicalish flavor. Even when mixed with stuff like chocolate syrup and ice cream it is still kind of there.

I was actually considering vodka for my next batch, though its not "proper". I think having to add so much water takes away from the lemon flavor, so using an alcohol that is already dilute allows you to retain more of the lemon flavor, and use less water to thin it. I will also use something more like a 2/3 water and 1/3 sugar mix, because I found the 1/2 even split syrup to be far too sweet and thick for my pallet. I guess at this point it's leaving limoncello territory and just going into general lemon flavor alcoholic beverage territory. I just want something smoother, less sweet, and with more of a in your face lemon flavor.