In the summertime, a cool lemony drink makes so much sense. On Monday, as the thermometer passed 100 degrees and I slogged my way through wire services stories after returning from vacation, I ran into limoncello … twice.

The first time I encountered the sweet lemon liqueur was in Italy. I think it was the same trip in 2003 as the one with the divine mozzarella. We were in the Riomaggiore in the Cinque Terre — yes, I know it’s trendy, but it’s also really cool — and after tasting it, I brought a little bottle home with me.

I returned to the cute ceramic bottle a couple of months after I got home and tried it again. It wasn’t as good as when I was in Italy, I probably should have refrigerated the stuff. I think the bottle is still in the cupboard; I haven’t had it since.

Now, thanks to Kristin Tillotson at The Minneapolis Star Tribune, I’m making my own.

The two recipes that I found on the wire called for different methods. I have a feeling that either method would work fine. One uses the entire lemon rind, the other uses lemon zest. I chose to go with the lemon zest recipe since I recently bought a new Microplane grater and want to make good use of it. I am also a bit leery of using the entire lemon rind as citrus rinds can make foods taste bitter. So far, it’s been a very quick process. I probably spent more active time trying to decide which vodka to use than actually preparing the stuff. Now it’s just watch, shake and wait.

I’ll keep you posted with updates.