Batch #3

     Well, it's been a little over a month and my Limoncello is ready to be mixed with the simple syrup.  Once a week, over the last five weeks, I've pulled the aging liquid out of its hiding place to give it a couple of turns.  This helps by agitating the zest to extract even more flavor out of those little strips.  It's amazing how something so small can create such powerful flavor.  I never open it though.  You definitely want to keep it in a nice and sealed environment to let the alcohol do its job.

     All I did in the picture above was mix equal parts sugar and water and created a simple syrup.  You want to make sure that your pot is nice and sterilized before you begin though.  Once you melt the sugar down in the water, simmer for a few minutes to ensure no crystals are left.  It's important that you do not let the mixture boil or reduce.  This will change both the color and consistency of your simple syrup and remember, we don't want to mask that beautiful lemon flavor.  Once finished, let the syrup cool completely.
     Before I add the cooled simple syrup to the jar, I strained out the lemon zest.  Again, make sure that you sterilize what you strain the liquid into so that when you return it to the initial jar, there's no issue of contaminating the liquid.  Honestly, if some bacteria gets into your Limoncello, the alcohol will most definitely take care of it.  The downside to not sterilizing everything will be a cloudy and slightly unpleasant end product.  It's just better to take the time.
     To finish, mix the alcohol and simple syrup back into the aging jar and seal it tightly.  Remember to clean any possible sugar from the outside of the jar since you will need to return it to the cool, dark place where it was before.  No one wants to worry about bugs in their closet right? 

     All that's left from here is to bottle your Limoncello.  I like to let it sit with the sugar for another month since it seems to develop a more sophisticated structure.  You can use any kind of bottle that you wish but I prefer the one's you see below.  Play around with the basic idea of this beverage and let me know what you think.