Quattro

On my last visit to Italy, over 7 years ago now, I had limoncello.  My traveling friend and I arrived in Venice, cleaned up and rested briefly in our hotel room, then went out in search of lunch.  When we finally got off the tourist track (train station to Rialto to St. Mark's Square) we found a small restaurant with tables and umbrellas set up along side a quiet canal.  We were among the only restaurant guests at that time of the afternoon, and our waiter was very gracious and helpful to us.  Knowing it was our first meal in the city, at the end of lunch he brought each of us a shot of limoncello:  "Welcome to Venice", he said.

Since then I've made limoncello 3 times.  The first two batches, Uno and Due, were made with 151 proof Everclear, the resulting libation being about 100 proof.  The third batch, Tre, was made with 190 proof Everclear (sent from a long-time friend in Texas), and ended up being about 126 proof.

Last night I started zesting the lemons for Quattro, and I finished tonight.  This batch will also be made with 190 proof Everclear from Texas.  The lemon zest is now soaking in the Everclear, and will do so for 45 days, at which time I'll add a significant quantity of simple syrup.  I might add a little more simple syrup to this batch than I did in Tre in order to bring the potency down to about 100 proof. The mixture will mature for another 45 days, being ready to drink just in time for my Burning The Mortgage Party the first weekend of January.