Limoncello
Limoncello is the yellow liqueur from Southern Italy, made only from lemon peels. It should be served ice-cold straight from the freezer. Here you can read what limoncello is, how much alcohol it contains, how to drink it, and which glass to use.
The best-known limoncello brands
Two Italian family businesses. Taste them side by side and you’ll notice the difference between lemons from Amalfi and those from Sorrento.
Pallini
A family business from Rome, established in 1875, using lemons from the Amalfi Coast. Fresh and bright. This is the bottle you’ll most often see in bars.
About Pallini →Villa Massa
Made with the large, thick-skinned lemons of the Sorrento Peninsula and bottled at 30%. Fuller and more intense in flavor.
About Villa Massa →Aperol, Campari, Disaronno, and Fernet-Branca are also featured on glazen.nl.
Every limoncello listed by brand
1 brand and 3 flavors, each with its own page about taste, cocktails, and the right glass.
Just the peel, and everything is in it
Limoncello contains lemon peel, alcohol, sugar, and water. That's all, which is why the quality of the lemons matters so much. The peels steep in pure alcohol for weeks, until it turns bright yellow and all the essential oils have been extracted. Then sugar syrup is added, making the liqueur cloudy. The oil from the peel doesn't mix with water and stays suspended. So the cloudiness isn't a flaw. It shows that real peel is used.
Lemon juice isn't used. Many people think limoncello is sour, but it's actually sweet, with the bitter, fragrant side of the peel underneath. The liqueur comes from Campania, from the coast near Sorrento, Amalfi, and Capri. That's where the large, thick-skinned lemons best suited to making it grow. Most brands are between 25 and 30%.
In brief
Four bottles from the same shelf
They differ in alcohol content and sweetness, and in whether they contain cream or no alcohol at all.
Pallini Limoncello
Made with lemons from the Amalfi Coast by a family business from Rome. Fresh and crisp, and not too sweet.
Villa Massa Limoncello
Made with lemons from the Sorrento Peninsula and bottled at a higher strength. Fuller and more intense than most.
Limoncello Cream
Limoncello with cream added. Much smoother and thicker, with far less alcohol. More of a dessert than a digestif.
Alcohol-free
The same lemon flavor, but without the alcohol. It lacks a little body, but you hardly notice in a spritz with plenty of bubbles and ice.
You can also make it at home with untreated lemons, pure alcohol, and sugar syrup. Allow a week or two for it to infuse.
Sweet, intensely citrusy, and yet not sour
Lemon peel
Exactly what you smell when you peel a lemon. Bright and oily. You barely notice the alcohol at 26%.
Sweet and full-bodied
Sweet and syrupy, with plenty of citrus oil and a bitter edge from the white pith beneath the peel. It isn't sour, because there's no juice in it.
Long and bittersweet
The sweetness fades, while the bitterness of the peel lingers. Serve it ice-cold, and the two stay in balance.
This is the flavor profile of a classic 26% limoncello. The cream version is sweeter and creamier, while the alcohol-free one scores lower on strength.
Three ways to drink limoncello
Store limoncello in the freezer, not the cupboard. At 26% alcohol, it won’t freeze, but it will become syrupy. That’s how it should be.
Ice-cold after dinner
Pour 4 cl into a small glass that’s been in the freezer for half an hour. That’s how they do it in Italy: as a digestif after a meal, in one or two sips. The cold makes it taste noticeably less sweet.
Glass: liqueur glass →As a limoncello spritz
Pour 5 cl of limoncello into a large wine glass filled with ice, top up with prosecco and a splash of sparkling water, and add a slice of lemon. Lighter than sipping it neat and easier to drink on a hot day.
Limoncello spritz →As a sgroppino
Whisk lemon sorbet, limoncello and prosecco together until frothy. Half cocktail, half dessert. In Venice, they’ve been ending heavy meals with it for centuries.
Sgroppino recipe →Cocktails with limoncello
A sweet liqueur with so much flavor works best with bubbles or ice.
Limoncello spritz
Limoncello, prosecco and sparkling water over plenty of ice. Perfect for summer.
Sgroppino
Lemon sorbet, limoncello and prosecco, whipped until light and airy. From Venice.
All limoncello cocktails
All the recipes with limoncello in one place.
Bellini
Peach and prosecco. A splash of limoncello makes it fresher.The right glass for limoncello
For sipping neat, use a small glass that can go in the freezer; for a spritz, use a large wine glass. These are the glasses we recommend.
What people often ask us about limoncello
Can’t find your question here? Check out our cocktail recipes or send us a message.
To the cocktail recipes →What percentage of alcohol is in limoncello?
What is limoncello made from?
Why is limoncello cloudy?
Is limoncello sour?
Should limoncello be kept in the freezer?
How long does limoncello keep?
Buy limoncello
Want the bottle at home right away? Order limoncello online from Gall & Gall. Gall & Gall has 20 varieties, 4 of which are on sale.
Prices as of November 3, 2026, as reported by Gall & Gall. You can see the current price and stock at Gall & Gall. Glazen.nl receives a small commission if you buy something through these links; it costs you nothing extra. No 18, no alcohol.
