ABOUT THE PRODUCER

Founded in 1992 by the Russo family, LIMÒNIO produces small batch, organically farmed fruit and botanic liqueurs from ingredients hand-harvested on their 50-hectare estate in the village of Partinico west of Palermo in northwest Sicily. Based in the glorious and abundant Conca d’ Oro valley, the family story began two centuries ago, when the family farmed fruit, grapes, herbs and the legendary Femminello lemon cultivar. Their great-grandfather Francesco began a slow commercialization of their bounty with grandfather Vincenzo expanding the export of the cultivation as far as eastern Europe while also supplying the Italian armed forces. 

The Femminello-Zagara Bianca (white flower) variant grown at LIMÒNIO is prized for its high concentration of essential oils in its skins, allowing for its preservation without refrigeration and ideal for distant travel but also perfect for producing flavorful food and beverage creations and use in natural pharmaceuticals. These lemons were used in the home too, including the family’s grandmother producing a lemon liquor, a process involving all generations of the family. The liquore, a glorious manifestation of the family’s love and labor, was shared with friends and the workers on the farm. It is with the current generation, siblings Rita, Valerie and Giusy Russo (with production by their brother and expert distiller Vincenzo Russo), the family decided to create a small, artisan commercial venture, LIMÒNIO, to highlight their cultivation, producing the first commercial “Limoncello” made and marketed in Sicily in 1992.

Over time, the portfolio has grown to thirteen liqueurs, anchored by their lemon liqueur produced from fruit using solely the skin of the peels (never the pith) of the Femminello-Zagara Bianca cultivar  thast is harvested up to four times a year. All the liquori are made with organically farmed estate grape-based distillate and contain only water and sugar as additional and essential ingredients and all are gluten-free, vegan, and sulfite-free. The lemon liquore is naturally “milky” in appearance due to the “ouzo effect,” scientifically called louche (loosh) from the high concentration of oils in the presence of water. All are unfiltered, where the natural oils will color the clear glass bottles and the inside of the stoppers over time, a true sign of quality and authenticity. 

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