9 best limoncellos to savour: Lemon liqueur for living la dolce vita

We might be a little biased when it comes to this one – it’s been our family’s go-to limoncello for years and we’ve had it many times before. It’s not just the taste, it’s also the memories of sitting together in the garden after a barbecue, sipping this digestif. That said, its flavour makes it a hard one to compete with.

This limoncello is zesty, fresh, sweet – all you want from this liqueur – and its texture is spot-on. It’s not too watery, but also not syrupy. The taste of alcohol is there, but not so present it makes your throat burn.

The liqueur was introduced more than 35 years ago and is made from the peels of Sicilian “limone di Siracusa”. It’s one of the most loved limoncello’s in the world today. With some added gentian, juniper, dittany, angelica, China bark, summer savoury, thyme and coriander, the company has established a unique recipe.

Marco D’Urso, founder of Marco Alimentari, a small family-run business specialising in quality and authentic Italian food products, said they are particularly proud of this product: “Not only for its superior quality but from where we have sourced it from. We import it from producers in Minori, on the Amalfi coast – where my late father was born. The bottles are each uniquely hand painted in the workshop of this small village.”

The result is a beautiful ceramic bottle that you’ll want to keep on display long after you’ve finished its contents. Because of this, we think it makes the perfect gift, as well as a keepsake, and it’d be perfect for holding a couple of fresh or dried flowers, or even a candle, after you finish the limoncello.

Looks aside, we had high expectations for this one, as the Amalfi coast is renowned for its sfusato lemon. We’ve had the pleasure of visiting the region (as well as Minori) ourselves this summer and have sampled this particular brand there too. The only question was if it would taste as nice on our London balcony (after the holiday goggles had come off) as it did on a terrace on the coast.

As lovely as the bottle is, it does prevent you from seeing the colour and texture of the limoncello. So, if it’s the first time you’re purchasing it, it might seem like a bit of a gamble. But, once poured, it’s a light-yellow and doesn’t look syrupy. It packs more of a punch than some of the others we’ve tested (such as the Pallini or Santa Marta), and it’s refreshing, juicy and still sweet, thanks to the region’s beloved lemon. We’re still fans, even when the scenery in which we’re sipping has changed.

First of all, we love the branding and the oddly shaped bottle – although this does make pouring with one hand a little more difficult. However, it also means it’s a nice one to keep around after polishing off the contents, which are made in Puglia with Femminello der Gargano lemons. The same family in Rodi del Gargano has hand-picked these lemons since 1850, and the brand uses only natural ingredients and less sugar – which you can really taste in comparison with some of the others we tested.

Though less sweet than some, it’s still very fresh and zesty. The texture is a little more watery, which we appreciated, as it makes the drink less sticky overall. It also didn’t have as much of a tingle down the throat as some of the others. This made it a very smooth drink (maybe even a little too smooth).

On the brand’s own website you can find a bunch of inspiration for how to include this liqueur in various cocktails as well as desserts. All we can say is: gimme, gimme, gimme!

At first glance, we could already tell this is not your average limoncello. The bottle (which features a beautiful label) contains a cloudy liquid, very different from the others we’ve tested. This is because, while most brands use only the peel of the lemon, St. Ives uses the whole fruit.

This not only generates less waste, it also makes for a very distinctive flavour. We will admit, this pour is probably not everyone’s cup of tea, and if you expect a regular limoncello you’ll be very surprised upon your first sip. But the more we sipped, the more we loved its character – it really is one of a kind.

The liqueur’s structure reminded us a bit of organic apple juice, as it’s quite cloudy and needs a good shake before every pour. When opening the bottle, we immediately smelled the sourness of the fruit, which you can also clearly detect when sipping. It tastes a lot like lemon juice, which gives this drink a very natural feeling. It’s a refreshing contrast to a more-traditional limoncello and it reminded us of the freshly squeezed lemonade we’ve had in Italy. We also think it would make for a very refreshing limoncello spritz, as it would make it less sweet.

When Giuseppe (Bepi) Tosolini founded his namesake distillery in 1943, it only focussed on grappa. At the time, it was a cheap spirit mostly drunk by workers, and Giuseppe set out to make a higher-quality version, revolutionising how the drink is viewed world-wide.

Now, the company has multiple distilleries and has ventured into the world of limoncello, using its grappa as the base.

For the limoncello, both green and yellow peels of Amalfi and Sicilian lemons are used – these are infused with grappa and distilled. The drink has a zesty smell to it and a slightly brighter yellow coloured than some of the others we’ve sampled.

It’s very zesty and packed with lemon juice – while we liked it, this might be a little too citrussy for some. Its flavours are sharp, but don’t linger too long, so you’ll inevitably need a top up.

If you’ve ever visited Rome or the region around it, chances are you’ve come across this bottle. The Pallini family has crafted this natural blend since 1875 from sfusato lemons that are exclusively found along the Amalfi coast, and it’s the only lemon you can actually bite and eat the peel from, as it’s sweet rather than bitter. Pallini is one of Rome’s oldest companies in the drinks industry, and best known in Italy for this limoncello.

Once opened, you smell sweet lemon aromas, but also a distinctive alcohol smell. It’s one of the sweeter options we’ve tested, and its texture is creamier too – which you can already see while it’s still in the bottle. It’s well-balanced and we appreciate the zesty flavours that lingered. While it is sweet, it’s not sickly, thanks to some earthy notes. This is a classic that won’t disappoint.

At 30 per cent, this is one of the stronger limoncello’s we’ve sampled, and we can confirm it’s not for the faint-hearted. Upon opening, you can already smell the difference, compared with some of the sweeter ones we’ve tried.

The Massa family created their home-made limoncello recipe in 1890, using the ovale di Sorrento – a lemon that grows in the Campania region (near Naples). Villa Massa was founded in 1991 and was the first company to produce and sell limoncello in Italy and around the world. The recipe hasn’t changed, and only natural ingredients are used for a proper taste of Italy.

We found the taste to be a little overwhelming when following a sweeter limoncello, but on our next sip we really enjoyed it. It packs more of a punch than others in this round-up, and we could really feel the tingle down our throat but, when served ice-cold, you can still appreciate its sweetness.

This natural, artisanal product is still made with the family recipe first introduced in 1905 – albeit it was altered slightly in 2010, to include 25 per cent more lemons.

So, perhaps unsurprisingly, its scent is very citrusy and we thought it similar to the Santa Marta one included in this round-up. The juice, peel and pulp of the lemons are all used to create this full-flavoured liqueur, and the finish is a little on the bitter side – definitely one that stands out flavour-wise.

If you prefer a sweet limoncello, this is a great option. For us, it was a little too much – especially when used for a limoncello spritz – but to each their own. It has a lovely sweet, citrusy scent and gives a little burn to the throat when sipping, but it’s not too strong. It has a crisp finish but, while we definitely didn’t dislike it, for our taste, it just didn’t quite hit the spot like some of the others in this round-up.