Oh, well, another week of nothing doing on the Drink Diary and–
Wait. What was that? It’s week 12? We’re finished?!
Well, almost, there’s a little finishing up that’s needed:
Limoncello, Week 12
First we had to strain and filter the Limoncello to remove the zest and anything else that might be hanging around in there other than deliciously-flavored alcohol.
Starting with a fine-mesh strainer over a large measuring pitcher or bowl, pour the Limoncello through the strainer. I did this twice (mostly because I bounced the strainer and a few pieces of zest got back into the mix, but whatever). Return the de-zested liquid back to the container.
Then, line the strainer with a coffee filter (this one for a 4-cup machine fit perfectly inside my strainer) and slowly pour the Limoncello through it again, this time getting out any sediment that may have settled.
Two things I noticed:
- One coffee filter was good for about half a batch (or one 750mL bottle’s worth) of straining.
- After the initial 300-400 mL have strained, the filter needs a little help. Swirling the mixture around, gently, seems to help–the sediment moves around and doesn’t stop the clean liquid from passing.
Fingertips really are best for this–much easier to tell if you’re about to snag your filter and have to start all over again–just wash your hands well before starting. Granted, even diluted we’re still dealing with some decent-proof alcohol, here, so not much is going to stand a chance.
You can strain this multiple times if you’ve got the patience. I’ve never been so strong on that, myself, so I just gave it one good filtering and bottled it.
Now it’s going to hang out in the chest freezer for a week before we sample it. After 84 days, I suppose we can last 7 more!
Also, this week, we started our quickie batch. I’m giving it 2 nights of just the Everclear and zest and will add the sugar syrup on night 3, give it a full day then strain, filter, bottle and chill.
With 4 bottles of Limoncello soon to be in my possession (plus the bottle we purchased from the liquor store)… whatever will we do? 😉