Pallini
The limoncello of a Roman family, made with lemons from the Amalfi Coast. Everything about the alcohol percentage, flavors, how to serve it ice-cold and the glass that goes with it.
Five generations and one type of lemon
Pallini was founded in 1875 by Nicola Pallini and is now in the fifth generation of the same family. The company is based in Rome, but the lemons come from farther south: the Sfusato Amalfitano, the elongated lemon with a thick, intensely fragrant peel that grows on the terraces along the Amalfi Coast.
Limoncello is not made from the juice but from the peel. It is peeled by hand and infused in neutral alcohol until the oil has been extracted; then sugar and water are added. That's all. The difference between a good and a mediocre limoncello therefore lies almost entirely in the lemon and in whether real peel or flavoring was used. Pallini bottles at 26%, and also makes an alcohol-free Limonzero, a creamy Cream and a peach version.
In brief
What types of Pallini are there?
Pallini Limoncello
The classic: peel from Sfusato lemons from the Amalfi Coast, fresh and sweet with a slight bitterness. Best served ice-cold from the freezer.
Pallini Limoncello 70 cl
The same limoncello in a larger bottle. Handy if you mainly mix it: a spritz contains 6 cl per glass.
Pallini Limoncello 3 liters
The three-liter party bottle. Intended for the bar or a large dinner; it no longer fits in most people's freezers.
Pallini Limonzero
The alcohol-free version, based on the same lemon peel. Especially intended for an alcohol-free spritz.
Pallini Limoncello Cream
Limoncello with cream: softer, fuller, and much less sharp. More of a dessert than a digestif.
Pallini Peachello
The same recipe, but with peach instead of lemon. Sweeter and rounder, and delicious in a spritz with prosecco.
The 50 cl Limoncello is the bottle to start with; ice-cold from the freezer.
Fresh lemon with a sweet core
Lemon peel
Intensely lemony, with more peel than juice: the fragrant oil of the Sfusato lemon. Fresh and instantly recognizable.
Sweet and full-bodied
Sweet and slightly syrupy, with plenty of lemon and a hint of bitterness from the white pith beneath the peel. That bitterness keeps it balanced.
Fresh and clean
A fresh, clean finish with citrus, without the stickiness a cheap limoncello can have.
Pallini Limoncello flavor profile. The Cream is softer and creamier and scores lower on fruitiness; the Limonzero lacks the warmth of alcohol.
Three ways to drink Pallini
In Italy, the bottle comes out of the freezer after dinner and is served at the table in small glasses. But since the limoncello spritz, that is no longer the only way.
Ice-cold after dinner
Keep the bottle in the freezer and pour 4 cl into a small, chilled liqueur glass. The cold makes it thicker and less sweet, leaving the lemon to shine through. This is how it is served in southern Italy.
Glass: liqueur glass →As limoncello spritz
Pour 6 cl Pallini Limoncello, 9 cl prosecco, and a splash of sparkling water over plenty of ice in a large wine glass, with a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint. The summery counterpart to the Aperol Spritz.
Limoncello spritz recipe →As sgroppino
Briefly whip one scoop of lemon sorbet with 3 cl limoncello and 6 cl prosecco until foamy, then pour into a coupe glass. Dessert and digestif in one glass.
Sgroppino recipe →The best cocktails with Pallini
Limoncello Spritz
Limoncello with prosecco, sparkling water, and mint. Fresher than an Aperol Spritz.
Sgroppino
Lemon sorbet, limoncello, and prosecco whipped into a foam. Venetian dessert.
Lemon Drop Martini
Vodka, lemon, and sugar in a martini glass. Limoncello makes it rounder.
Limoncello cocktails
All cocktails with limoncello together, from spritz to sour.The right glass for limoncello
A small liqueur glass for serving ice-cold after dinner, and a large balloon glass for the spritz. These are the glasses we recommend ourselves.
Everything you still wanted to know about Pallini
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