Easy Limoncello Recipe & Calculator

Why buy what you can make yourself? Limoncello is delicious and DIY is easy. You can even tailor your own sugar level with my easy limoncello calculator. Best of all you won’t have to drink food coloring used by many factory made limoncellos.

What You’ll Need

Limoncello is so easy to make, you probably have a lot of this stuff already. We’re going to produce ~4.3 Liters of limoncello with this recipe.

• Organic Lemons — 20 to 25, ideally non-waxed
• 95% Grain Spirit — 1.75 Liters
• Filtered Water — 1.9 Liters, distilled works too
• Granulated Sugar — 1.1 Kilograms

Tools that I recommend to make this super easy:

• Stock Pot — 5 to 8 quarts will do
• Infusion Jar — I love these huge jars
• 375ml Bottles — 12 bottles for this recipe
• Peeler — for shaving off lemon peels
• Stainless Filter — paper filters work too
• Food Scale — get a metric capable one
• Measuring Pitcher — again get metric capable
• Ladle — something to scoop and stir with
• Funnel — one does come with the bottles above

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Infusing Grain Spirit

I chose to use 1.75 liters of Everclear Grain Spirit 95% which I purchased from my local Total Wine. This is not a spirit you drink directly, but one you dilute to create other drinks. In our case the strong alcohol will allow for a quick infusion and a limoncello you can drink in as little as a few weeks to a month.

If you choose to use Vodka, go for at least 100 proof (50%) so that you have some room to add sugar and dilute without winding up with a very weak limoncello. Note that it will take you a while to infuse, possibly a couple of months.

Make sure to use my easy limoncello calculator if you adjust this recipe at all.

Wash Your Lemons!

It can be hard to find lemons in the store that aren’t sealed with a wax. I would choose organic lemons, because they should at least be sealed with a natural wax which is easier to remove. I used medium-hot water and scrubbed them well. While still very warm I dried them individually using a towel to mop up any remaining wax.

The Big Chore of Peeling

While you can opt to zest the lemons for a quicker infusion, I would opt for the traditional method of using lemon peels. Grab a peeler and start taking long thin peels of lemon rind while avoiding the white pith. The pith will make the infusion bitter if you include too much!

This is going to take a minute! Put on your favorite podcast, audiobook, or TV show and tear through them. Chuck the peels into your large infusion jar until all the lemons are processed. Don’t chuck the lemons away, you can make lots of delicious things with them. I chose to make a big batch of tangy lemonade.

Wait, Wait, and Wait Some More

Now that your infusion jar is full of lemon peels let’s grab that 1.75 liter handle of Everclear Grain Spirit 95% and dump it in. No real trick to it, just make sure you don’t miss the jar. Now you’re infusing!

The real trick is going to be in the waiting. You should place this jar in a cool dark place, such as your pantry and set a reminder to give it a gentle swirl and shake every day or two. Shoot for at least a couple of weeks to a month, the longer the stronger the infusion.

Be patient, avoid sampling this mixture, especially without watering it down, it’s 95% alcohol!

Over the days and weeks the liquid will start to turn a golden color. It won’t look like cloudy limoncello yet! That won’t happen until you mix it with syrup and lemon oil droplets precipitate due to the louche effect. It’s going to be a really neat effect if you’ve never seen it before.

Making Simple Syrup

You’ve waited patiently, given your infusion its final swirl, and the day has come! Now it’s time to prepare the syrup. Grab your five quart or larger stock pot and dump in 1,929 mL of filtered water with your measuring pitcher. I like to use this filter system to get 0 mS/cm EC water. You can also use distilled water.

Place the pot of water on the stove on medium heat and cover. We’re not trying to boil the water, just warm it up. While that starts to happen measure out 1,113 grams of granulated sugar with a food scale. Place the sugar into the warming water and begin to stir.

It will take a minute or two to dissolve it all. My recipe should dissolve easily with just slightly warm water. If you’re adjusting the recipe you might need to keep heating the water and stirring.

You’ve Got Limoncello!

While waiting for the simple syrup to cool down completely take the time to wash and prep your bottles. I really love these 375ml half size bottles, you’ll need 12 of them for my recipe. These bottles also come with a funnel, labels, and heat shrink. Also grab a funnel and either a coffee filter, cheesecloth, fine mesh strainer, or stainless steel coffee filter (my personal go-to!)

Strain your infused grain spirit through your filter of choice and discard the solids. You can do this a couple of times if you’d like. An easy way to do it is to have two of the infusion jars, but any 2 liter or similar container can work. You should wind up with a perfectly clear golden liquid.

Once the syrup is totally cool you can start to pour in the filtered infused grain spirit into your pot. You’ll see that really cool louche effect in action. The infusion and syrup will instantly to a beautiful cloudy lemon yellow, make sure to stir well. Congratulations, you’re almost done!

Bottle, Label & Enjoy

Grab those bottles you washed and a funnel. Start to ladle your home made limoncello from the pot into the funnel, leaving a little room at the neck. I opted to place each bottle in the sink and close it with a cork. Once they were all bottled I gave them a rinse so they wouldn’t be sticky and towel dried each one.

I like the labels and shrink wrap the bottles come with. I think this gives a neat aesthetic, the extra effort makes it feel more special, especially for gits. At this point it’s a good idea to put all the limoncello into the freezer and let it rest for another week be fore sampling. The freezer is actually the right place to store these indefinitely.

I know waiting is hard and I kept one bottle back and didn’t even label it. Gave it a few hours in the freezer and enjoyed it straight away.

Quick Reference

1. Wash your organic lemons really well to remove any wax. Use a peeler to peel long strips of lemon peel and place them into a large infusion jar. Avoid the white pith or your limoncello will be bitter.
2. Pour 1.75 liters of Everclear Grain Spirit 95% into your infusion jar with the lemon peels. Keep in a cool, dry place, like a pantry. Gently shake and swirl the jar daily for two weeks to a month.
3. Prepare the simple syrup by combining 1,929 mL of filtered or distilled water into a stock pot, cover and warm it on the stove, do not bring to a boil. Weigh out 1,113 grams of granulated sugar with a food scale. Pour sugar into the pot and stir until dissolved. Turn off heat and cool completely.
4. Strain the finished infused grain spirit, it’s easiest to use two infusion jar and a stainless steel coffee filter. Carefully pour the filtered infusion into the pot of cooled simple syrup. You should see it instantly turn cloudy and look like finished limoncello.
5. Stir well and ladle the limoncello into bottles with a funnel. Cork and place bottles into the sink. Give them all a rinse when you’re done and towel dry. Apply labels and shrink wrap if desired.
6. Place into freezer and rest for a week. Store in freezer indefinitely.

Limoncello Calculator

Dilution & Sweetness — Dial in the perfect batch with this calculator. The defaults below match the recipe and what I’ve enjoyed drinking, but if you’re adjusting the recipe make sure to use the calculator!