The social drinker

In a restaurant in Cork the other day, I saw a friendly, high-energy group of friends end a meal with a limoncello or two.

The sight of the jovial party and the brightly coloured yellow liqueur was a reminder of a wonderful evening in Bologna many years ago, which ended in a bar with a giant upturned limoncello bottle that was the size of a beer keg.

The Italians know how to party without drinking too much, but if they do things to excess, it is often digestifs such as limoncello or grappa that are responsible for the excess.

Nobody knows where, or when, limoncello was invented, but plenty of Italian distillers know how to make the stuff, and many Italian families also make their own. It’s easy if you live in Italy — simply source fantastically large, fresh, Amalfi Coast lemons with their thick, hearty skins, and mix them with neutral spirits, sugar and water.

Here in Ireland, where the lemons are smaller, you have to rely on off-licences, but most of them stock at least one variety of limoncello, such as the very drinkable Luxardo or Mionetto for around €20 to €25 a bottle.

The traditional Italian way to drink Limoncello is to sip it from a small glass chilled directly from the fridge with no ice.

That’s the traditional way, but limoncello’s crisp, lemony flavour is also a good basis for a simple cocktail.

A popular Italian cocktail is the Bacio del Limone or ‘lemon kiss’, which can be made by adding a spoonful of crushed ice to a Champagne glass, and then topping the ice with five to six blackberries, raspberries or redcurrants.

Once you have done this, pour a mixture of four parts sparking white wine and one part chilled limoncello on top, and serve.

A perfect way to end a summer’s day.