Limoncello Quest, Parts II and III-Harder, Faster, Lemonier!

Such a great deal has happened since last I updated.  I have been learning all about provisioning in Colonial Boston, for example, and have come up with what I think is a riveting ethnohistory of the cheesecake (which I will try to articulate sometime later in the week).  Most importantly, Limoncello Quest has finally come to a bright yellow, extremely potent, lemony end.  What resulted was something that smells like lemon extract, tastes vaguely like lemon pledge (in a good way, you know), and kicks like a disgruntled farm animal.  I am calling it a success.  I am not now a huge drinker and have been drinking it very slowly, mostly in vodka tonics, for the last few weeks.  I still have almost an entire bottle left from the original output of...one entire bottle.  But I am confident that it will not go to waste this exceptionally hot summer.

So, how did I turn six lemons and handle of vodka into this?

Magic, my friends.  Pure, unadulterated magic, as well as several coffee filters, two cups of sugar, an empty bottle, and several months of my life.  

The Straining:

After waiting patiently for a WHOLE 20 something days-way less then I was supposed to, but as long as I could, it was time to strain out all the zesty bits, which had become flaccid, pale, and completely devoid of all virtue.  This was accomplished by lining a colander with about 6 coffee filters (to get full coverage) and then carefully pouring my liquid into it.  All the patience I lack was sorely tested while I waited for everything to slowly percolate, and I eventually picked up the whole wet filter, vodka, lemon zest pulp mess with my bare hands and wrung the hell out it.  I somehow managed to not get any zest into my freshly strained vodka.  I celebrated by licking my fingers, and was greeted with the taste of completely unsweetened lemon and vodka.  Who would have guessed it!  Not bad, but not limoncello.  Not yet.   After straining and being put back into the cleaned jar, my end product was a very disturbing color.  Very... vibrant. 

The Sugaring:

What was needed was the addition of some simple syrup, which is just a whole lot of sugar dissolved in boiling water.  I followed some recipes from the internet.  I ended up with a completely innocent-looking bowl of sugar water, which I allowed to cool before combining with my lemon vodka.  Behold...it looks like water!

The Continuing Adventures in Storage: 

I added the simple syrup and after taking some slightly silly photos, I had to do the hardest thing ever, which was to put it away for another month to mingle.

Oh, but since this is the wonder of the internet, you don't have to wait another long long month to see the end results (also, I didn't wait a month.  My bad!)

The Canting! (Is that a word?  Opposite of Decanting?  Yes?  No?):

Lacking a funnel (which a former housemate once informed me was a grave character failing and probably actually impossible), I ended up pouring my limoncello from the jar to a measuring cup and then into a clean bottle that once held Trader Joe's Sparkling Apple Cider.  It left everything, including me, slightly sticky and delightfully lemon-scented, but it did the job, and soon I had a full bottle of limoncello with just enough extra left over to moisten my Rainbow cake (which dried out in the over, and which I hope to post about sooner rather than later, as it was the most delicious thing ever to turn my tongue blue-green).  

The Drinking:

According to the many different recipes I read on the internet, I decided that while they then suggested I let the whole thing sit even longer, that it was time that my patience was rewarded.  Rewarded with a delicious limoncello tonic.  Which it promptly was.

Warm vodka has a slightly queasy-making greasiness to it, so I am not going to lie, this was not the best drink I ever drunk, even though it did taste slightly like sunshine, flowers, summer dresses, Yuppies, and afternoons on the Compound.  I have since introduced my limoncello to the fridge, and our relationship has really bloomed.  

The Verdict:

I think I got a little bit too much pith in with the zest as it has a sort of delicious lemontastic front end, but a faint bitter lingering aftertaste.  That might also be because I keep cutting it with tonic as I don't really have the kind of lifestyle that promotes sitting on the patio drinking tiny glasses of very strong liquor.  I want that kind of lifestyle, though, so if you want to help me get there, please, feel free to let me know.  I'd also like a white flowing dress, some blooming jasamine, and a handsome shirtless graduate student named Lars to bring me my chilled beverages on a silver tray.   You know, just in case you're wondering.

In the end it was actually a pretty easy process and cost me five dollars for the jar since everything else  I got for free or had hanging around the house, and if I could only master the art of zesting pith-free I think this would be a really amazing thing.  As it stands it tastes pretty good chilled, I would definitely recommend it to anyone with a large amount of patience, neutral-flavored alcohol, and citrus fruits hanging around.