Anyone have a source for clear bottles with corks? After begging for two years my friend finally

C

cynupstateny

Well-known member
gave me the limoncello recipe she got in Italy and I want to use it in Christmas gift baskets. Most of the sites I've looked at have nothing plain over 15 oz.

 
I make a lot of cordials & would recommend a screw top vs. a cork. One source

I've used is this specialty bottle company. (Notice they even have a gallon jug.)

If you want to make a big volume, I've used a thoroughly clean 5 gallon bucket, but for bottles, I've also spoke to a couple of my favorite restaurant bars and asked them to save me some bottles. Go on a late Saturday and if they do a fair volume, the should have at least a handful of empty bottles.

http://www.specialtybottle.com/glassbottles-2.aspx

 
I love the swing tops. They sell them in Saudi in every souk

and I have used them many times for this same kind of use. We all bought them by the case for making our booze. On every street in Saudi where booze is illegal...hard to come by in the States. Go figure!

 
I like the look of them, but sometimes those hinged lids are so tight, I can barely operate 'em.

 
search online for a commercial supplier - I use commercial jars/bottles for my business>>

and I know that you can call up one of the local distributors here and order whatever quantity you want. You can just go pick them up in person. I'm sure you'd find a similar supplier there, and with any luck, an online catalogue to boot!

 
Cyn, I bottled mine in 200 ml cobalt blue bottles with phenolic cone caps. Then I dipped the

tops in sealing wax, tied raffia around that and finished off with a lemony label. I'm pretty much a sucker for anything with raffia tied around it.

The final look ended up quaintly rustic plus I felt confident mailing it without seepage worries.

I've seen lots of clear bottles with sealing caps, but none that large with corks.

I'll share my recipe. Would you like to share yours...or has your friend sworn you to secrecy? (which I totally get, so no pressure)

 
This is the version I made: WARNING INSIDE

The first time I made this recipe I used organic lemons and one or two of them gave off a slight wiff of mold. I cut that portion out and figured (wrongly, it will sadly turn out) that that much grain alcohol would kill any form of mold.

Wrong. So very, very wrong.

At the time grain alcohol was close to $25 a bottle (not to mention the price of organic lemons) and I--in my stupidity--quadrupled the recipe to process enough for gifts. At the 40-day mark, the bottle was infused with gorgeous golden hues and I delighted in this first attempt at liqueur. Spinning open the lid I gave thanks to the monks who originally had the idea of aging limoncello in dark dry caves just as the rank odor of mold met my nose.

Fifty percent of limoncello's charm is the delightful buzz you get from it. Another 50% is the visual color and the citrusy notes as you inhale the aroma. Adding mold to that equation ruins it.

Not willing to believe this was actually the failure it was, I continue with the recipe, wasting all that sugar and ultimately another 40 days of my life. Mold is mold and it ain't going away, even when submerged in 151-proof alcohol. It's just preserved. I now understand some of the people I saw in Las Vegas.

I'll leave you to imagine the words that came out of my mouth as I poured $125 of mold eau de vie down the drain.

EDITED: I just realized THIS is the most expensive item I've wasted, not the $115 block of gianduja chocolate.

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/notes/food/dh_limoncello.htm

 
I'll second wine/brewing suppliers & natural gardening stores too

All the brewing stores here carry them but we have two natural gardening stores that surprisingly carry probably the best selections of wine, beer, vinegar, fermenting, cheese making and such supplies anywhere in town.

 
I prefer vodka to grain alcohol. Grain alcohol is so harsh, it takes much longer

than 40 days to mellow out. I make Kahlua with Everclear and I wouldn't touch that stuff in less than 8 months. For enjoyable drinking...I give it a year.

I had a dinner a couple weeks ago and someone brought gifted lemoncello made with Everclear. It was so harsh! I diluted it with ice while it was better, the hangover the next day made me swear by grain-based spirits with longer aging.

 
I've used both. The visual is quite distinct: vodka give an opaque yellowish tone, grain gives

a clear golden tone.

Mine sat for 8 months and it was wonderful although I actually prefer the visual of the brighter yellow color using vodka. It looks more like typcial limoncello. Mine looks like a golden brandy.

A coworker made a 3-week batch with lemon vodka and it was quite passable. He already had the vodka and didn't want to bother buying grain alcohol. His turned out a beautiful bright yellow. (This was the painful Mold Year for me, so I was just a tad envious.)

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2002-10-03/lifestyle/0210010337_1_lemon-sorrento-winter-park

 
The bottles that she gave me were corked and they just looked so pretty I

want to duplicate. She's out of the coumtry and I don't want to bother her with something like this. She also threatenen to fo unspeakable things to me if I shared the recipe (which I think is crazy.

Thanks to all for the info!

 
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