The idea: to bring the office together, use some of our products (like the Swivel Peeler(Opens in a new window)), and of course, have an excuse to drink together. Leslie was inspired to introduce us all to limoncello after making it with her friends. And the beauty of limoncello-making is you have to do it in two rounds, so you get to socialize twice!
Since its first year, the OXO tradition of limoncello-making has grown in popularity and creativity. The group gets bigger and bigger, and the citrus selection gets even more interesting—we’ve since added grapefruits and limes to the mix. This year, we even jazzed up our simple syrup with mint, rosemary, raspberry, lime, and basil.
We also like to keep things in the family, so we use vodka from Prohibition Distillery(Opens in a new window), co-owned by Brian Facquet (who’s married to Benat Facquet, an OXO Senior Product Manager).
Now, let’s make some limoncello!
Limoncello Round 1
What you’ll need:
10 lemons (feel free to try other citrus like oranges, limes, or grapefruit)
1 bottle vodka (750 mL)
1 container to hold 750 mL vodka
Instructions:
1. Peel the lemons.
2. Place the lemon peels (make sure they’re pith-free!) in a sealed container with 750 mL of vodka.
3. Let the mixture sit for 4 weeks in a cool, dark place.
Limoncello Round 2 (4 weeks later)
What you’ll need:
2 ½ cups sugar
3 ½ cups water
Any additional flavors (like rosemary, basil, raspberry, lime)
Instructions:
1. Strain (Opens in a new window)the mixture into a decanter and dispose of peels.
2. For the simple syrup, add sugar, water and any additional flavors to a medium saucepan. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
3. Add the simple syrup (the more you add, the sweeter the limoncello will be) to the vodka.
4. Drink up!
We like ours on ice on the hottest of summer days, and always have some in the freezer, where it can be stored for up to a year.
