I bottled up our homemade limoncello last week after finding adorable glass containers at Sur La Table. I packaged the liquor with two tiny shot glasses.
Also? I never published "step two" in the process of making limoncello. (Step one can be found here.) The past few weeks have been such a blur that I'm lucky I even remembered the second step! But here it is:
-Make simple syrup by combining 5 cups water with four cups of sugar. Cook over medium heat on stove, stirring often, until sugar dissolves and mixture slightly thickens. Let the syrup cool down and then pour it into the mixture of vodka, sugar and lemons. Cover, put it in a dark corner and let it steep for 4+ days. The longer it steeps, the better it tastes.
As for step three, you pour the limoncello through a strainer to remove the lemon zest. Then use a small funnel to pour the liquor into pretty bottles.
All told, we ended up with 12 9 oz. bottles of limoncello and a about a cup left over for, ahem, taste tasting. (It's so good that I saved two bottles for our personal stash.) The rest will all be given away over the holidays.
I'll definitely be making limoncello again (and again and again). Next, though, I'll try to figure out how to add a decorative touch in the bottle process. I've seen images of a curly lemon peel floating in the bottle, but when I try it the lemon peel just sinks. My next mini research project, and I'm sure the answer is a simple one.
