I’ve been looking for ways to use the denuded lemons and have been on a bit of a gourmet lemonade kick, experimenting with different recipes and using the herbs from my teeny herb garden to mix things up. So far my favorite experiments have been basil lemonade and, no joke, rosemary lemonade, which I’ve been told is amazing with vodka.

Vodka you say? Okay. I’ll bite.

Here’s a Rosemary Limoncello recipe I whipped up, based on a Giada DeLaurentiis recipe. Limoncello really should be made with Everclear, so it can be kept in the freezer without actually freezing. But, I haven’t quite mastered the right sugar/water/grain alcohol equation. This is great anyway and fine with a few lemonade ice cubes.

Rosemary limoncello

13 lemons
1 (750-ml) bottle vodka
3 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups sugar
4 sprigs of fresh rosemary (rosemary can also be swapped out for basil, thyme, or vanilla bean)

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the lemons in long strips being careful to remove the pith, which I later do with a small, very sharp knife. Reserve the lemons for another use. Place the lemon peels and rosemary in a 2-quart, air tight mason jar. Pour the vodka over the peels and let steep for two weeks at room temperature.

In the meantime, I like to juice the lemons and make lemonade, which I then freeze with a few sprigs of rosemary for beautiful ice cubes that won’t water down my limoncello.

When the limoncello is done steeping, stir the water and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Let cool completely. Pour the sugar syrup over the vodka mixture. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. Refrigerate until cold. Giada recommends 4 hours and up to 1 month–though I have found it is best to let it rest for at least three weeks to let the flavors of the lemon and sugar mellow before serving or transferring to bottles, strain the limoncello through a mesh strainer, discard the peels.

You might also like my Molten Chocolate Cake recipe.