The traditional Italian liqueur made with lemon rind has found a niche in Spanish after-meals
Experts claim its use beyond the short drink, with ice, tonic or as a citrus ingredient in a cocktail.
Its recipe dates back to the beginning of the 20th century and comes from a hotel on the island of Capri, the fruit of popular knowledge
The ‘limoncello’ landed on Spanish tabletops with self-confidence and friendliness, with that very Italian tongue and its fluorescent yellow color, and it was not difficult for him to find a place among other more rude digestifs, such as the herb pomace, anise and various liqueurs. It began stealthily sneaking into pizzerias –in a strategy shared by lambrusco– until expanding its range of action to any restaurant that maintains that healthy, and somewhat old-fashioned, custom of invite shots to good customers.
Of course, the other side of the coin is that your use has been practically relegated to the flat glass, pigeonholed, as if his only possible service was to help wash down dinner, like a digestive snowplow. However, there are plenty of other options, and brands like Say Capri (one of the brands with the longest tradition) are striving to transmit knowledge and highlight its diversity.
What actually is ‘limoncello’?
One of the basic premises is knowing that authentic ‘limoncello’ is not made with lemon juice, but with the lemon rind, to extract its essential oils, in the original style of the island of Capri. “We make it by macerating the rind of lemons of the Ovale variety in alcohol.also known as the Sorrento Lemon PGIgrown in the sun of the bay and carefully selected with great care, to provide the highest quality & rdquor ;, they explain from Di Capri.
One thing to look out for to distinguish between a real limoncello and an ersatz is its ingredients: lemon peel, sugar, alcohol and water. And period, without preservatives or artificial aromas. This, according to the barman and founder of the Coctelería Creativa portal, Georges Restrepo, makes the ‘limoncello’ “a cocktail in itself”, in the style of the range of ‘sours’ (such as whiskey or pisco idem).
“It applies perfectly the concept of the taste triangle: we have distillate, which in this case is neutral, we have sweetness thanks to sugar and we have the citrus part, which in this case is provided by the skin of the Sorrento lemon. This is how it is achieved perfect balance between acidity, sweetness and alcohol”explains Restrepo.
This explains why it triumphs as a shot or, in cocktail jargon, ‘shot’. “The other essential element is cold, which reduces the perception of alcohol and helps create an entire experience in the mouth,” adds the specialist. Precisely for this reason, the expert considers that there are many other ways to enjoy such a liquor.
Here are four examples:
On the rocks
It does not have much history, but it is a classic that does not go out of style. Adding a few pieces of ice to the ‘limoncello’ makes it possible to turn the shot in a long drink, to enjoy calmly, and also to lower its alcoholic content a little. When choosing the glass, it can be a long one, but the typical square glass for ‘on the rocks’ cocktails is also recommended.
with tonic
The gin and tonic has reigned supreme for a couple of decades, but it’s about time alternatives were considered. The limoncello blends perfectly with the tonic if represented in a ratio of one to three. In other words, the glass must be made up of one part of ‘limoncello’ and three of tonic water, with ice to taste. If you add a few mint leaves and a lemon ‘twist’, it’s already a book.
in a spritz
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Double portion of Italian spirit: transform the usual aperitif cocktail of the country of the boot, the spritzsubstituting the usual bitter orange liqueur for ‘limoncello’. In this way, the formula would be as follows: 75ml of prosecco or cava, 50ml of limoncello, 25ml of soda, ice and a decoration based on mint and leather.
in a cocktail
The ‘limoncello’ holds up perfectly as the main element of any drink, but it can also play the role of an ingredient in a cocktail, offering its citric and sweet nuance to the whole. Of course, it will be necessary to be careful to reduce the amount of the main distillate so that the alcoholic content is not excessive. A very summery combination would be to mix it with vodka, lemon juice, syrup and basil.
An origin fruit of popular knowledge
In gastronomy, there is always an attempt to go back to the exact moment of the birth of a recipe, but this archaeological search usually ends in failure. Mainly because, like the things that really lastthe origins are usually collective, the result of a knowledge of the environment, the climate and customs, as well as an oral transmission of knowledge.
In the case of the ‘limoncello’, history establishes that it was Vincenza Canale, owner of the Hotel Mariantonia in Capri (off the coast of Naples), which began to produce this liquor to offer it to its customers at the beginning of the 20th century. And it was so successful that the formula ended up spreading throughout the island and beyond. However, it was surely Vincenza who bottled it and made it known, but it is more than likely that the recipe was passed down from mothers to daughters of the Canale family for a long time.
So it is impossible to know who was the first to come up with the idea of macerating the lemon skins, in a practice that must have responded to a technique of exploitation, because the lemon juice was marketed for other purposes, even medicinal. What is known is that the heirs of the Canale family founded the firm Di Capri in 1988 to market the same recipe that their ancestors devised.