Purchase Realty Realtor John Shadle took a big ol’ swig of the good life during a 1996 visit to Italy, and his taste buds haven’t been the same since.

It wasn’t a fabulous Italian wine or extremely strong espresso that won his heart. It was a chest-warming, tongue-tingling, lip-lovin’ shot glass full of limoncello.

Also called limoncino, this delicious citrus-y drink is popular in Southern Italy and right here in Paducah at the Shadle house.

John often serves limoncello as an after-dinner drink, and it’s just hard to resist as actor Danny DeVito tipsily demonstrated on The View around this time last year. DeVito even launched his own brand soon after his post-partying performance. Talk about turning lemons into limoncello!

We’d put John Shadle’s limoncello against DeVito’s any day. John has been infusing it at home ever since that visit to Italy, serving it to friends and giving bottles as gifts.

The thing is, you gotta make it about two months ahead of time. So if you start around now, you’ll have plenty by Valentine’s Day! It’s definitely worth the wait!

Here’s what you need for John Shadle’s Limoncello:

• 14-16 unblemished, plump lemons
• 1 bottle of 190-proof pure grain alcohol (ouch)
• 1 bottle of vodka (the brand won’t matter)
• Sugar
• Water

Here’s how to do it:

• Use a zester to remove the zest (the yellow peels) from the lemons. Avoid the white pith underneath.
• Place the zest in a jar of 190-proof pure grain alcohol. Seal the jar and place in a dark, cool place — in the back of a cupboard, for example.
• Let it sit quietly while the alcohol absorbs all the oils and essence from the lemon zest.
• About a month or so later, retrieve and open the jar. Place a cheesecloth over its mouth and then pour the contents into another much larger jar, using the cheesecloth to collect all the lumps and clumps of zest left behind.
• Boil enough sugar and water to create about three cups’ worth, and then pour that into a new larger jar along with the bottle of vodka.
• Seal and return to the spot in the back of the cupboard.
• After another month, retrieve the jar and filter out the remaining zest, this time using a few coffee filters to catch all the goop.

From there, pour the cloudy mixture into several nine-ounce bottles and cap ’em. John even produces his own labels for the bottles. Store them in your freezer.

When they’re good and cold, give the bottles as gifts, but keep a few for yourself! Just pour a little into a frozen shot glass and enjoy!

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