We have a wonderful lime tree in our front yard. Recently we trimmed some large oak trees and all of a sudden the little lime tree has been getting a lot more sun and being very generous with its fruit production. We have limes coming out of our ears! Trying to find uses for the limes, I decided to make homemade limoncello, but using limes instead of lemons. If you’ve never had limoncello, it is a crisp and refreshing liqueur made with lemons and grain alcohol. After doing some research, I decided to try this Gizmodo/Franny’s in Brooklyn method because I like the idea of letting the limes infuse the vodka over several weeks.
Ingredients
- 5 medium limes
- 750 ml vodka (I used Russian Standard)
- cheesecloth
- twine
- 1.5 cups simple syrup (you can make this with 1 cup fresh water and 1 cup granulated sugar)
- a large jar (we bought a large mason-style jar that is made to serve drinks, it has a little spout at the bottom and a pressure lid)
Preparation
Add the vodka to the jar. Use the cheesecloth and twine to suspend three limes over the vodka. Store in a cool dark place for at least 4 weeks. Discard the suspended limes and cheesecloth. Zest the remaining limes and add the zest and the simple syrup to the infused vodka. Let the mixture sit for 15 minutes, and then strain the mixture through cheesecloth to remove the lime skins. Store the limecello in old vodka bottles or mason jars and keep it chilled in the refrigerator. Because the vodka is lower proof than grain alcohol the limecello will probably freeze if kept in the freezer.
