Limoncello and lemon balm liqueur

File this under make-ahead recipes, as in make it well before next year’s holidays, or any time you’ve got 21 days and 45 minutes of lead time. I’m amused, and was initially daunted, by that very specific, lengthy amount of prep time. But if you just remember to take the initial steps about Thanksgiving time, you’ll be rewarded with a Christmas gift that’s much more popular than the fruitcake that also takes a long lead time and generally involves alcohol. So far as I know, there aren’t running gags about limoncello.

I’ve made this at least a couple of times now; it’s among the easier liqueurs to make at home with reasonable results.

Limoncello

Adapted from an allrecipes submission: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/32451/limoncello/

Ingredients

Zest of 10 lemons

1 liter vodka (you may wish to save the bottle)

2½ cups sugar

4 cups water

Method

Combine lemon zest and vodka in a large glass container. Cover loosely and let set for one week at room temperature. (You don’t use the juice, so I go ahead and juice the lemons at this point, freezing part of it for future use so it doesn’t go bad before I can use it up.)

After one week, combine sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and let boil without stirring for 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Stir into vodka mixture. Strain into individual glass bottles for gifts or back into the original bottle. Seal well. Let age for two weeks at room temperature.

Serve icy cold.

This year I also tried what is essentially a variation on limoncello. I was blessed with a rather prolific lemon balm plant, so I tried this recipe as a way to use it up.

Lemon balm liqueur

From The Herb Gardener

Ingredients

3 cups fresh lemon balm leaves

Zest of 12 lemons (again, you don’t use the juice)

1 cup sugar

1 liter of vodka

Method

Wash and bruise the lemon balm to help release the oils. Combine all ingredients into a large glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake well and set in a dark warm spot for two to three weeks, shaking every few days. Strain through cheesecloth back into the original bottle or smaller gift bottles.

Rating: It’s less sweet and more boozy than limoncello. The leaves from the lemon balm turn closer to tea color while they steep, so it loses that pretty green color and leaves behind a muddier-looking beverage rather than that crystal clear look and taste of limoncello.(Can you tell it’s hard not to compare the two?) The lemon balm liqueur does have more flavor notes going on. I think for the purposes of drinking straight, I prefer the limoncello because of the clarity and less pronounced booze bomb. But I’m looking forward to experimenting with combinations of the lemon balm version in recipes to see the results.

It’s probably not worth buying a bunch of lemon balm to make your own, but if you have some, it might be worth a half batch to play with. I’ll post an update if I find a perfect use. Meanwhile, it did NOT make the cut for any gift baskets.