edhodge

How do you drink it? Is it served cold? Where did you find the best? When do you drink it? Can I buy it in the US? Will I crave it when I come home from Italy?

Thanks for your help!
Diane

SeaUrchin

Yes it is served ice cold and you sip it from a small stemmed shot glass. You can drink it just before or just after dining. You can buy it in some Italian delis and some speciality stores.

Some people love it and some people hate it, thinking it is too sweet or whatever. I served it at one of my weddings and some guests were horrified and others wanted more.

cls2paris

Ditto what SearUrchin says. If you like it there, you will crave it at home. It is sold here in Minnesota, so hopefully you'll find it where you live. I keep a bottle in the freezer for special occasions - like Saturday night sitting on my deck!

cigalechanta

I like it poured over mellon or ice cream.
I like the limoncello from Capri,
It's available at any good liquer store but also on line!

Calamari

Cigale!!! Ciao Bella! So glad I found you here on board. Did not have time to read all of the posts here, but wanted to add that Trader Joe's sells a pretty good limoncello for $10. Just thought I would add that in case nobody else has yet. Salute!

cigalechanta

Hi Calamari, that's a good tip!
Hope you had a great long week-end.

cigalechanta

Alas, only beer and wine at our Trader Joes. What state are you living in?

willit

Limoncello - Icky,sticky stuff only fit for heffalumps and woozles. I think that was actually Tigger's view of honey, but it sums up my opinion. Possibly the most overated thing in Italy - but Many of my friends think it's great.

Pausanias

I find limoncello too sweet but my wife loves it. Grappa's the stuff.

cigalechanta

pastis for me! but only in summer.

StCirq

It makes a helluva cheesecake....

ilovetotravel29

You can drink it room temp or cold if you like. You can get it at almost any market.

It is very strong, stronger than vodka in my opinion, but the sweetness really helps to mute the strongness.

Wednesday

I see it in Albertson's liquor store here in FL, I think of Fodorites every time I see it....

j_999_9

I've had several different samplings of limoncello, and I'm guessing price/quality is a factor.

The first time I had it in Sorrento, I thought it was awful. But then I had it again, and it was quite smooth.

Apparently, all limoncello (limoncelli ?) is not created equal.

SuzieC

Is it just me, or does it pack quite a "wallop"?

SusanP

I love it. Especially if you buy it in the US, make sure it is just the alcohol, lemon & sugar with no other garbage added. As others have mentioned, keep it in the freezer and sip after dinner. If you're anything like me, yes, you will crave it after you come home! Bring some back from Italy, it's a lot more expensive to buy it here.

Last week, Giada de Laurentis (Everyday Italian on the food channel) made a drink that looked wonderful: Limoncello and champagne with a couple of raspberries floating on top.

michpeg

Last year on the Food Network I saw an
Italian chef make his own. He said that in his region each family had their own secret recipe. It was so odd I tried it! You pour vodka into a large canning-style jar. You wrap a lemon in a cheesecloth and suspend it over the vodka-it must not touch the vodka. ( I used an awl to make a hole through the lid and passed the cord through). You tighten the jar and wrap around the lid with tape so no air gets in. You place this in a dark closet for 2-3 months. It makes a yellowish, lemon-scented vodka. Add to it a simple sugar syrup ( 1/2 sugar, 1/2 water) to make it as sweet as you like. Voila! Homemade limoncello.

lucygirl

edhodge,

This is a recipe for a Lemon Drop drink by Nigella Lawson--I've made it and I think it's great.

Nigella: "This is citron presse for grown-ups: frosty-white, acid sharp and as deeply lemony as you could want.

Ingredients:

1 lemon, peeled and quartered
1 tablespoon caster sugar (or sugar syrup)
50ml limoncello or other lemon liqueur
50ml Triple Sec
handful of ice cubes
Instructions:

Put the lemon pieces into the goblet of a blender, sprinkle over the sugar and leave to steep to let the sugar dissolve for a few minutes (if you're using sugar syrup, just bung it all in, everything you've got, and blitz away) then pour in the limoncello and Triple Sec, tumble in the ice cubes and whizz away on the cocktail-shaker setting or however your blender is organised. When everything's combined, thickened and ice-white, pour into a large tumbler and knock back.

baldworth

Nectar of the gods! I first tried it in Venice two years ago and I am now addicted. After I returned home to north Georgia (just outside of Chattanooga, TN) I couldn't find it anywhere although every liquor store I entered knew what it was. I finally found some in Knoxville where my daughter was in school. After my year's obsession, my wife put out a general email to all of the liquor stores in the Chattanooga area and one responded that he had it i stock. It is 30 minutes across town but well worth it. Most major cities will have it somewhere and as we learned, you just have to ask enough people to find it. The best stuff comes from Sorrento where it is made and strained in volcanic soil but I haven't met a Limoncello I didn't like yet. I freeze it now but it is good just cold or even out of the bottle. I like to put it over ice and suck the liquor out of the ice afterwards. I wouldn't dream of wasting it on ice cream or any other dessert, etc ..., but at $20 a bottle I also can't afford it. If you like it you will crave it when you return.

Baldworth

edhodge

I love citrusy type drinks so I am afraid that I might develop another addiction. Thanks to all for your help. Those recipes sound great.

Diane