There are two kinds of limoncello. The first comes from Italy, is drunk somewhere sunny, and makes you briefly believe you have your life together.
The second comes from Byron Bay.
Byroncello was born from the slightly ridiculous idea that perhaps we could make an Australian limoncello worth drinking – not a sweet yellow spirit designed to lurk at the back of the liquor cabinet, but something made properly, with real lemons and very little else.
The recipe is beautifully simple: organic lemons, alcohol, sugar and water. That’s it. No preservatives, no flavour enhancers and no reconstituted lemon. The quality comes from the raw ingredients and the way they’re treated.
Byroncello uses organic Byron Bay lemons, picked during the cooler months when they’re at their best. They come from different trees throughout the season, which means every batch has its own personality. The colour can vary, too. Nature, inconveniently, refuses to conform to a Pantone chart.
There’s something particularly satisfying about making limoncello in Byron Bay. Lemons are everywhere here – in backyards, farms and along hinterland roads – and they’re one of those ingredients that seem to capture the place: bright, generous and unapologetically sunny. We wanted Byroncello to feel the same way.
For us, that’s part of the point. Byroncello isn’t trying to be a replica of an Italian limoncello. It’s an Australian take on something with a very long history – made here, with local lemons, and with a distinctly Byron Bay attitude.
And it turns out the Italians aren’t the only ones who know what to do with a lemon.
Ollie Wong, Head Chef at Bar Heather, says: ‘What we love about Byroncello is that it actually tastes like lemons. It has brightness, acidity and freshness, rather than just sweetness, which makes it incredibly useful behind the bar and in the kitchen. People really notice the difference.’
While it’s delicious straight from the freezer, it also works rather beautifully in a spritz, over ice or in cocktails.
THE BYRONCELLO SPRITZ
50ml Byroncello
75ml chilled prosecco
25ml soda water
Plenty of ice
A slice of fresh lemon
Fill a large wine glass with ice. Add Byroncello and prosecco, top with soda and give it one gentle stir. Garnish with a generous slice of lemon.
Sunshine in a bottle? Perhaps. But unlike sunshine, this one improves considerably with ice.
Drink somewhere sunny. Pretend you have no emails.
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