Hi John:

Are you looking to ship the lemons out of the country and have the Limoncello made, say, in the US?

Serge,

Our product is called Mayancello; it is a much improved product over the traditional limoncello. As for our lemons, we are keeping all options open; the most likely in the short term is exporting frozen Meyer lemon juice.

Sounds delicious, any pics of the final product?

Awaiting the professional label.

I've always thought the peels were an important component. Anyway, you might try talking to someone at http://www.stgeorgespirits.com/ they are very well-regarded and also experimental with some excellent quirky products.

I love our Meyer Lemon Limoncello we make. I actually like it better than the limoncello we make with our Santa Teresa Femminello lemons (the "limoncello" lemon). I think is sweeter, smoother, and better tasting. And that's saying a lot, since my husband and I are both of Italian extraction. Good for you, John, and good luck with your Mayancello.

Patty S.

Serge,

Thanks for the lead. Yes our recipe uses quite a lot of peel; the great thing about Meyers is the peel is not bitter; so you can just peel it with a vegetable peeler and then chop it. With a Eureka or other lemon the white part of the peel is quite bitter; so you have to zest them with a grater.

John

Patty,

And you don't have the final recipe. We had a couple of the many travelers that pass through staying at our house a few days; and one of girls commented that her parents
were fanatics of limoncello; but she didn't care for it. I gave her some of my Mayancello; and she immediately understood.

Well, John, I have MY recipe, which is excellent :-) We have a local Italian restaurant owner that begs us to bring in bottles he can buy. It is very labor intensive, so we don't sell it. If we can ever figure out a mechanical way to remove the pith completely - as well as we can do by hand - we may have something marketable. And John is right - the pith with the Meyer is not nearly as bitter, but, we remove ALL the pith meticulously anyway (for either limoncello we make). Still, the Meyer limoncello is smoother and better in my opinion. And, this is from many generations on both my and my husband's side of limoncello makers. Just love it. Everyone raves about it, too, John. It really is better.

Patty S.

Patty,

Try it once just peeling the Meyer with a veggie peeler and chopping it up; of course that assumes you strain out the peel before bottling. Takes me less than an hour to make 3 gallons; and about the same time to bottle it later.
Everyone here knows I am a bit prejudiced; but I honestly believe that anything made with Meyers is better.

I'll give it a try. We normally peel the Meyers, then hand-scrape all the pith off the back until we get down to the peel. Yes, we do strain out the peel prior to bottling, as well as strain it further. And, although I do love all my lemons, in this, I agree with you, I really do think it makes a better limoncello. And that is saying a lot from an Italian American whose grandparents were from Italy, and it is their recipe that Dave and I use (which is I don't know how many generations old.)

Patty S.

When we sent Meyers to Berlin last year for the Fruit Logistica show, everyone was walking around sucking on the peels; and telling each other how it wasn't bitter, like "ordinary" lemons.

In 6 years of making Mayancello I have not encountered a single person (young, old, man, woman) who did not love it.
My recipe originally came from a restaurant in Rome from a friend of my Brother. IMHO I have significantly improved it; made it simpler to produce; and of course it is made with fresh Meyer lemons.... but frozen juice and frozen peel work just as well.

Here is the final label... I think...for our Mayancello

Same with us, John. Everyone asks us when we're making our next batch. And, love the label, very pretty. I especially like the ombre color background and the little Meyer lemons. We use grain alcohol to make ours, so the alcohol per volume is about 56%. And, we also will make a batch with 100 proof vodka as well. Everyone asks us for the "high octane stuff", lol!

Patty S.

The commercially available product from Italy... at least what I can find in Guatemala, is 27% and I have yet to find anyone who likes it. By contrast, Mayancello, at 20% is almost a pre-made lemondrop; but with Meyer lemons.

The restaurateurs here love it; and they sell it for about $4 for a 1-2 oz "shot"; my hard costs to make it with retail sugar and retail vodka is less than that per liter.