Not so long ago, you had to be Italian, a visitor to Italy’s Amalfi Coast or a frequent viewer of the Food Network to know about limoncello.

Then came Danny DeVito.

During a manic, slurred-speech appearance on the ABC chat fest “The View,” the pint-sized actor explained that he’d been out late the night before with friend George Clooney, tossing back no fewer than seven glasses of the tangy-sweet lemon liqueur.

Public reaction was swift — and strangely encouraging: A clip of DeVito’s “View” visit became one of the most-watched videos on YouTube.

Rather than feel the need to apologize or check himself into the nearest spa for some euphemistic rest and relaxation, DeVito decided that, if life was going to give him lemons, he might as well make limoncello. Last May, he launched Danny DeVito’s Premium Limoncello, which is produced in Sorrento, Italy, and sold at BevMo! in bottles decorated with scratch-and-sniff lemon decals.

Meanwhile, in Ventura, husband and wife James Carling and Manuela Zaretti-Carling were getting ready for a limoncello launch of their own.

After nearly a decade of making the liqueur for friends using Manuela’s family recipe and lemons grown in their backyard, the Carlings were ready to start commercial production of their Ventura Limoncello Originale. But they weren’t sure how the whole limoncello-inebriated celebrity thing might help, or hinder, their efforts.

Limoncello is “not supposed to be consumed in bulk,” James said with a laugh. “It’s best when you pour just a little and sip it slowly, after dinner or by itself on a hot day. We keep ours in the freezer so it’s always ready.”

It turns out they needn’t have worried. The couple’s first commercial batch of limoncello — which is best served ice cold — arrived in area stores and restaurants in February. Less than a month later, it won the gold medal in the fruit liqueurs category at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, co-founded by judge and influential wine-lifestyle consultant Anthony Dias Blue.

“We’ve already ordered the gold-medal label rolls for our bottles,” said James, former vice president of information technology and operations for a Santa Barbara-based clothing company, The Territory Ahead.

The Carlings hope to introduce Ventura Limoncello Crema, a variation made with whole milk, in the fall. But first, they will celebrate the launch of their new venture, known officially as the Ventura Limoncello Co., with a limoncello-and-appetizers event that will double as a benefit for Ride4aCure when it takes place May 1 at 71 Palm, one of the growing number of area restaurants where Ventura Limoncello Originale is on the menu.

Secret recipe

To be sure, limoncello — it’s pronounced LEE-mon-cello — packs a punch.

It traditionally is made by infusing 190-proof, pure grain alcohol with lemon zest, or peels from which all of the white pith has been removed. The zest is eventually discarded, leaving the lemon-infused alcohol to be mixed with a simple syrup of sugar and water before bottling.

At that point, limoncello usually clocks in at around 60 proof; Ventura Limoncello Originale is rated at 58 proof, or 29 percent alcohol.

Variations abound. The Food Network Web site offers no fewer than five limoncello recipes from the likes of Mario Batali, Giada De Laurentiis and Michael Chiarello, whose version calls for adding rum and a few sprigs of lavender to the lemon peels.

“Every region of Italy has its own recipe,” said Manuela, who was born in Rome and got her limoncello recipe from her mother, Rossana Zaretti of Oak Park, who got it from her own mother while growing up in Civitanova Marche, Italy.

“You can go online and find all kinds of recipes. Ours is ‘secret’ in that we use a specific lemons-to-alcohol ratio, and allow the infusion to sit for a particular period of time,” said James.

Because 190-proof alcohol is not available in many states, including California, Manuela used 151-proof Everclear in her homemade batches of limoncello. Vodka is another, more common substitute.

When she and James decided to start commercial production, however, they went all the way, obtaining the state and federal licenses required to use ethyl alcohol in their limoncello. The 190-proof liquid is stored in a fire-rated metal cabinet in their production space, tucked away in a Palma Drive industrial park that also is home to several caterers and bakeries.

Some limoncello aficionados believe that the higher the proof, the more oils the alcohol is able to extract from the lemon peels. The Carlings work with ethyl alcohol in part because it is traditional and in part because “it is the purest, neutral spirit available,” said James. “Being neutral, it really allows the lemon infusion to come through.”

In another nod to tradition, Ventura Limoncello Originale comes by its sunshine-yellow color naturally, without the dyes listed in the ingredients of other brands, he noted.

From the source

Despite moving operations out of their home kitchen and into a 1,300-square-foot commercial space, some elements of the Carlings’ limoncello production remain the same.

Everything is done by hand, from washing and peeling the lemons into tissue-thin strips to operating the bottling “line,” which is capable of filling 15 cases of 375 ml bottles per hour. A stickler for detail, James positions the foil cap atop each bottle so that the tear tab is lined up with the front label. The final step: using a Sharpie to write the batch number on the back label of each bottle.

Similar care went into selecting the lemons.

With limoncello production outpacing the amount of fruit grown in their backyard, James and Manuela had to find another source for citrus. Given Ventura’s history as a lemon-producing region, they wanted to keep things local. They also experimented with different kinds of lemons, making limoncello with fruits at varying stages of ripeness.

Meyer lemons failed to make the cut. They may be prized for the floral aroma of their rinds, but they are in season just three or four months a year, said Manuela, a graphic artist whose restaurant-industry experience includes helping to run her parents’ Tarzana restaurant, Il Salotto, in the late 1990s.

The thin, smooth skins of Meyer lemons presented another problem. “For home production, I don’t mind peeling a few of them. But not at this level,” Manuela added with a laugh.

Instead, the couple teamed with grower Chris Sayer, whose family has operated Petty Ranch in Ventura for more than 130 years and who agreed to grow lemons to their specific needs. The 5,500 Eureka lemon trees at the 52-acre ranch should keep Ventura Limoncello Co. rolling in fruit year-round.

“What we found really made a difference is allowing the lemon to stay on the tree until it is truly tree-ripe,” said Sayer. Lemons harvested for commercial use often are picked while they’re still green, “and those just don’t develop the same oils and sugars.”

The Carlings’ limoncello “really captures something about this place, about the lemons that we produce that I’m very proud of,” Sayer added. “I think it’s really interesting that it melds one of their family traditions with one of ours.”

On the menu

At Brooks restaurant in downtown Ventura, co-owner and executive chef Andy Brooks didn’t just add Ventura Limoncello Originale to the list of drinks served in stylish cordial glasses: He also cooks with it.

The lemon liqueur is the star ingredient in one of his trademark dishes, limoncello-steamed Northern mussels. The recipe calls for simmering shallots and garlic in extra-virgin olive oil and adding fresh lemon thyme and oven-dried tomatoes before deglazing the pan with limoncello.

“I’m up for supporting local folks — plus, their limoncello is really, really excellent,” said Brooks. “It’s not real high in alcohol and you can really taste the lemons.”

At La Dolce Vita in Oxnard’s Heritage Square, a small glass of icy-cold limoncello strikes the perfect, traditional note after a dinner of the restaurant’s “Mediterranean fusion” fare, said server Norman Elliott.

The chilled liqueur’s bright, lemon flavor also can act as a palate cleanser, providing a post-main course rest stop on the way to dessert. “We offer it as a digestivo,” Elliott added.

And at 71 Palm, site of the upcoming fundraiser, chef and co-owner Didier Poirier serves limoncello straight up, added to glasses of Champagne and mixed into Lemon Drop cocktails.

Ventura Limoncello Original also is available at J’s Tapas in downtown Ventura, at Bistro 13 in Camarillo, and at Emilio’s and Epiphany in Santa Barbara.

Retail locations include Valley Liquor & Fine Wine Deli and Village Wine & Spirits in Ventura, and Wine Castle locations in Moorpark, Simi Valley and Ventura.

Now that the Carlings’ limoncello is available commercially, friends who enjoyed sipping it during visits to the couple’s home may find something new in their glasses.

“I’m trying the recipe with strawberries,” Manuela said, laughing again. “Those are local, too.”