Staibano Limoncello / 70cl

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This is a privately owned citrus grove near the train station where you can sample the products and buy. The park-like grounds are peaceful and inviting, shaded with lemon-studded arbors and linked together with meandering paths. In addition to limoncello, you can sample a variety of lemon products as well as liqueurs made with fennel, oranges, mandarins, basil, and other creative combinations. Chairing the second panel was Ben Lindsay, director of Garnish Communications, who was joined by Dmitry Mishin, general manager at Honest Burgers, and Josh Powell, head bartender, consultant and drinks writer. The final flight of the day was sampled by Lindsay’s team – Irish Cream. Two Silvers concluded the day’s tastings: one for Aldi’s Ballycastle Irish Country Cream, with its “great viscosity” and “ice cream cone notes”; and the second for Aldi’s Specially Selected Irish Cream Liqueur, with tastes of “chocolate and hazelnut”. As in making a good risotto, a fine wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano, or a bottle of traditional balsamic vinegar, good limoncello results from quality ingredients, generations of knowledge, small but critical tweaks in the recipe, and well-kept family secrets passed down over generations.

With trends such as low­-abv drinks and the current coffee craze, producers have wasted no time in putting their best foot forward to prove liqueurs can be just as on­-trend as any other spirit category – and with the quality to boot.

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If you are not able to visit the Amalfi Coast this year, then let the Amalfi Coast come to you. With our range of limoncello’s and gin from Staibano, still and sparkling wines, from personally selected vineyards, and selections of pasta’s and cooking sauces, it won’t take too long to re-create the Dolce Vita in your own home. In Italy, certain prized agricultural products are strictly regulated. Lemons grown in certain designated regions of Capri and the Sorrentine peninsula fall under the legal protection afforded by an I.G.P. (Indicazione Geografica Protetta), a protected geographic area. Two consortia protect the two main lemons cultivated there based on their cultural, historical, and culinary importance. These certified areas are protected under laws of the European Union. The famous tart-sweet liqueur known as limoncello requires only four ingredients: lemon peels, grain alcohol, sugar, and water. However, like many of Italy’s most important culinary traditions, the simplicity of the recipe can be deceiving. It’s a skill to get the flavour of a fruit to come across as natural in a liqueur, and the good majority of them managed it very well,” enthused Manchester. “The Rhubarb in particular was a very honest representation; the flavour wasn’t artificial in any way.” This had body to it,” said Manchester. “It had an extra layer of flavour, some depth to it, which gives a really nice balance.”

Beyond the convent walls, making lemon liqueur became a family affair. Residents of the Amalfi Coast probably have been sharing bottles of lemon liqueur among family and friends for centuries. Recipes began appearing in regional cookbooks around 1900. What we do know for certain is that wherever the spirit got here from, it’s nonetheless inextricably linked to all these three areas of Italy to at the present time. Nevertheless, Amalfi is the present torchbearer because of its superior lemons. Sfusato lemons, often known as Sfusato Amalfitano, had been dropped at the Amalfi Coast from the Center East a number of centuries in the past and are excellent for making limoncello. To experience a more rugged side of the Greek islands, head to Tinos, which is next to Mykonos and is rivalling that outcrop’s claim to be the “island of the winds” thanks to its gusty summer breezes ( writes Daphne Karnezis). Unlike most Greek islands, the action spreads well beyond the chora (or main town), extending to its 50 or so villages, some of which are literally hanging from the cliffs. Pyrgos, Isternia, Kardiani, Komi and Volax are among the most picturesque. After breakfast at the Exomeria café in Isternia, with sweeping views of the Aegean, head to the relaxed Bianco Beach House bar for a refreshing dip or a surf at Kolibithra before starting your exploration of the villages. We too at Campania Wines were looking forward to a few weeks on the Amalfi Coast this year, sipping an after dinner limoncello, and taking in the breath taking views of Positano and Ravello. Alas, our plans were scuppered. The process now involves the maceration of the finest lemon peel in the world: the I.G.P. lemons of Amalfi, in fine grain spirit. The rinds are then removed and the alcohol is blended with milk and sugar. The result: a smooth lemon liqueur which tastes indulgent yet is refreshingly sweet and light with a 17% ABV – it can therefore be enjoyed at any social occasion.

Like this article? Don't miss "Authentic Shopping: Insider Tips to Come Home with an Italian Souvenir You’ll Treasure for Life" How to Experience Limoncello on the Amalfi Coast According to some historians, lemon liqueur was first made behind the walls of convents and monasteries, where excellent-quality beer and wine was already a mainstay, and where strong alcoholic elixirs were commonly concocted in monastic infirmaries for medicinal purposes. In fact, limoncello may have derived from a group of liqueurs called rosoli, sweet alcoholic drinks comprised of fruits, spices, herbs, and medicinal plants.

This liquorificio situated in the picturesque village of Ravello produces homemade limoncello using the sfusato amalfitano lemons. They also make a variety of digestivi made with fennel, coffee, melons, strawberries, and other novel ingredients.Don Vincenzo Staibano was born on the Amalfi Coast, a stunning and vibrant stretch of coastline south of Naples, Italy, where he spent his entire life. Surrounded by such outstanding natural beauty and unique architecture, Don Staibano unsurprisingly delighted in the dolce vita of the Amalfi Coast and its unrivalled food and agricultural produce. Much of his life was devoted to tending his lemon groves which, typical of the Amalfi region, produced abundant lemons of the most incredible colour, size, taste and fragrance. At home in London after a nightmare flight from Bologna a few weeks ago. All the travel chaos makes me want to stay put. Don Staibano would only use the freshest ingredients to create his recipes, all from the surrounding areas of Amalfi. Amalfi Smooth, manufactured in small batches, is still made with the same ethos. On your own or with a group, you can visit some of the lemon groves where the ovale di Sorrento and the sfusato amalfitano are cultivated. Larger, more industrial-scale producers of limoncello are scattered across the region. These producers employ many people and use specialized machinery to peel the lemons, concoct the recipe, and bottle, cork, and label their products. The assembly-line production process is fun to observe.