The Right Way To Drink Limoncello For The Best Taste

Limoncello, the sunny yellow liqueur that tastes like boozy lemonade, isn't a specific brand but a type of Italian spirit. This means that you might find a selection of limoncellos at any decent-sized liquor store, including some budget-priced bottles that shouldn't set you back more than $20 or so. In fact, you can even make the liqueur yourself with nothing more than vodka, lemons, and sugar. Once you've acquired it, the question is how to drink it. Some liqueurs are so syrupy-sweet they really don't stand on their own, but limoncello has some sourness to balance the sweet so it can be enjoyed straight up.

One of the best ways to drink limoncello is ice cold, although no actual ice should be involved as it might melt and dilute the drink. Instead, both bottle and glass should be chilled — but the bottle can't be stored in the freezer indefinitely since the liqueur will freeze. Most limoncellos range from 24% to 32% ABV, which will freeze between 5 and 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Since freezers are meant to run at 0 degrees Fahrenheit, keeping a bottle of limoncello in there too long may result in broken glass and wasted booze.

As for when to drink limoncello, the best time is after a meal. The drink is considered to be a digestif, which means it may help settle an overstuffed stomach. It also makes a great accompaniment to coffee and dessert since it will help take away some of the former's bitterness while enhancing the sweetness of the latter.

Even though limoncello doesn't need a mixer to be palatable, it plays quite nicely with them. One of the simplest cocktails you can make with it is a low-ABV limoncello and tonic or a simple limoncello spritzer: Pour a shot of liqueur into a tall glass, then fill it with your chosen fizz. If you're going the spritzer route, you can use either plain or flavored, while if you want something boozier, you might consider replacing some of the seltzer with sparkling wine. Limoncello can also be mixed with vodka and lemon juice for a limoncello martini or used to spike iced tea or an Arnold Palmer (or a Palmer-adjacent beverage such as Earl Grey orangeade).

If you prefer a more complicated cocktail, you can mix limoncello with gin, dry vermouth, and green chartreuse to make a Procrastination – or cognac, Cointreau, and lemon juice for a Gennaro's Sidecar. For lemony summer cocktails, use an ice cream maker or blender to whip up limoncello-spiked slushies or use the latter appliance to concoct a frozen Italian margarita just like the one served at Epcot Center. To make it, combine one part lime juice with two parts each of limoncello, triple sec, and tequila and blend the booze with a bunch of ice cubes.

Limoncello not only makes for a delightful drink or cocktail ingredient but can be used to provide a lemony lift to a wide variety of recipes, as well. One easy way to begin exploring its culinary possibilities would be with a traditional Italian sgroppino made by mixing limoncello, vodka, and prosecco into lemon sorbet. This dish can do double duty as a palate cleanser or boozy dessert, although in the latter case, you might want to beef it up with the addition of some fresh berries and a side of biscotti.

Once you branch out into exploring other limoncello dessert recipes, you'll find that it can be used to flavor everything from cakes to puddings to sorbets and tiramisu, or you could even try mixing it with beer to make boozy shandy popsicles. Limoncello's possibilities don't stop with the dessert cart, however. To make a bright and summery limoncello pasta dish, swap it out for the eponymous spirit in vodka cream pasta and replace the canned tomatoes with pureed yellow peppers. Limoncello can also lend some zing to a chicken marinadeor a creamy white sauce served over shrimp.