Get every bit of yellow off 15 lemons. Use light pressure to avoid the bitter white pith. It takes about 30 minutes total. Save the naked lemons for another use. A sharp zester works much better than cheap ones.

Dump the lemon zest into grain alcohol and seal the jar tightly. Store it in a dark cabinet and wait at least 4 weeks, longer if you have patience. Shake the jar occasionally when you remember. By the third week, it should smell incredible.

Heat 2 cups of water with 2 cups of sugar until the sugar dissolves, then cool the syrup completely. Strain the alcohol to remove the zest pieces, then slowly mix it with the cooled syrup. The mixture will get cloudy at first but will clear up.

Pour the limoncello into dark glass bottles and wait another 2 weeks. Store the bottles in the freezer and serve the limoncello ice cold in tiny glasses. Be warned this limoncello hits harder than you expect!