1.  Rinse the lemons in a bowl of warm water with a teaspoon of baking soda to remove any wax on the skin. After rinsing, dry them with a towel.

2.  Using a vegetable peeler, remove the outer, yellow peel from each of the lemons. Remove only the yellow part of the skin, the white, sponge-like underside of the skin is bitter and will affect the taste of the limoncello. Once all of the lemons are peeled, place the lemons in a plastic bag and refrigerate them for another use.

3.  Place the lemon peels into a large jar (2 quarts or larger) and pour the alcohol over the peels. Close the jar well and shake it lightly to ensure all the peels are under the alcohol.1. Rinse the lemons in a bowl of warm water with a teaspoon of baking soda to remove any wax on the skin. After rinsing, dry them with a towel.

 

 

 

4.  Place the jar in a cool, dry place to allow the oil from the lemon peels to infuse into the alcohol for at least 1 week. Shake the jar every 2 days or so to make sure all of the oil from the peels is extracted.

5.  After a week or two, when you are ready to make the limoncello, strain the now infused alcohol through a fine mesh strainer into a large mixing bowl. Discard the peels. They should now be a pale shade of yellow and very brittle, like a thin piece of wood.

6.  To the infused alcohol, add the filtered water and stir well.

7.  Spoon the sugar into the alcohol mixture a spoonful or 2 at a time. Wait until the sugar is fully dissolved and then continue adding more sugar in this manner until the limoncello is sweetened to your taste.

8.  Once it is sweetened, the limoncello is ready for bottling. Funnel the limoncello into bottles and let it set for 24 hours either in the freezer or refrigerator prior to serving.

9.  Store in the refrigerator or freezer and shake the bottle prior to serving.