Make your own homemade limoncello for sipping or to use in recipes. This recipe will make the equivalent of a 750 ml store bought bottle.From: TheMakeYourOwnZone.com
Ingredients:
1-1/2cupsVodka (I used Smirnoff 100 proof)
4Lemons (You will only use the peels)
1-1/2cupsWater
3/4cupWhite Sugar
Instructions:
Begin by removing the peels of the lemons. A vegetable peeler works great for this. You want to have mostly just the yellow parts of the peels (where the oils with the lemon flavors are), avoiding as much of the white pith as possible as it can add bitterness. Place the lemon peelings in a jar and cover them with the 1½ cups of vodka. Put a lid on your jar and then let the vodka and lemon peels sit for at least a week for the flavor to infuse into the vodka (mine set for 2 weeks). At the end of this time your vodka should be a pretty yellow color too.
Make a simple syrup by combing the sugar and water in a small saucepan and heating it on the stove until the sugar is dissolved. This should only take a couple minutes. Pour the syrup in a small bowl and then let it set for a couple of hours to cool completely. You can even let it sit overnight if you want to. If there is any heat left in the simple syrup when it's added, it can evaporate away the alcohol which you don't want to happen.
Now you will combine the infused vodka and the simple syrup. Pour the vodka off the lemon peels into a large bottle, using a strainer if necessary. Add the completely cooled sugar syrup to the lemon vodka and stir a bit to combine them.