My first post of 2012 is all about liquor and citrus fruits!
The past few months I have become obsessed with making my own ‘cello liqueurs. For those of you that do not know what a ‘cello liqueur is, it is a sweet and very-high-in-alcohol content digestif originating from the popular Southern Italian beverage, Limoncello. Limoncello is traditionally produced using pure grain alcohol, lemon zest, sugar and water. I have been experimenting with different fruits and as a result ended up producing what I call Clemencello. Oh, and here is the recipe:
Prep Time: About 5-8 Days
Ingredients:
- 750ml Bottle of Grain Alcohol (Everclear)
- 750ml Filtered Water
- 10 Clementines (preferably organic)
- 3.5 Cups of White Sugar
Directions:
- Scrub the clementines in hot water with a brush and dry them
- Carefully zest the clementines using a zester or a grater, avoiding the pith
- Place the zests and the grain alcohol in an airtight container
- Let the mixture sit in a dark place at room temperature for 4-6 days
- Bring 750ml of water to a boil
- Stir in the sugar and remove from heat after it is completely dissolved
- Let the sugar-water cool for 10-15 minutes
- Combine the sugar-water mixture with the zest-alcohol mixture
- Let the combined mixture sit in a dark place at room temperature for 12-36 hours
- Strain the Clemencello into bottles using a coffee filter and a funnel
- Place the bottles in the freezer
- Enjoy!
These are the bottles of Clemencello that I made to give out as gifts to my family for Christmas, complete with my own label design:
