Lina's Exquisite Crema Di Limoncello

Florida Coast Magazine – Holiday 2019 – After sipping on an incredible Limoncello liqueur, the Florida Coast Magazine team coincidentally discovered that its inventor and owner lives locally in Jupiter, Florida. We determined that we had to go and meet the woman who has not only created this phenomenal beverage, but is still one of the few females in the alcohol business crafting a big success with a woman-owned brand.

Visiting Lynn’s (Lina in Italian) office is like stumbling across an Aladdin’s cave full of shiny glass bottles with labels of well known alcohol brands. Lynn Reisigl and her late husband, Jim, worked in the marketing and advertising industry in New York from 1976-1992. Soon thereafter, they moved to Jupiter, Florida and decided to concentrate specifically on the liquor segment of the industry.

Their agency was a great success–so much so, their largest client at the time offered to buy them out, which they graciously accepted. Lynn and her husband chose to once again go private, but this time they wanted to do something a little different—create their very own brand.

Italian Heritage

Lynn’s family heritage is Italian, with many of her family still living in Luco dei Marsi in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. Not far from the Adriatic coastline, this area is covered with beautiful historic buildings, national parks, lakes, and mountain ranges in addition to picture-perfect medieval towns.

Discovering the Brand

Lynn’s cousin passed on a family liqueur recipe, which Lynn started to make in the U.S. in small batches. Not long after, both friends and family loved the drink so much that requests came flooding in. Lynn reminisces, “This was about thirteen years ago. One year my son over-promised on bottles for his friends and I found myself working all hours to meet the orders. My husband turned to me and said, ‘I think people would buy this. We should do something with it.’”

Unfortunately, Lynn’s husband passed away in 2017, so he didn’t witness the official launch of Lina’s Limoncello. No doubt he would have been incredibly proud of his wife, who is already making her brand mark in the industry. Lynn highlights, “There are still not many women-owned spirits brands, although more are venturing into the category.”

Label Design

The inspiration for the bottle design came from her cousin’s children in Italy. Although they appreciate the old aspects of Italy, they also love the modern and cutting edge designs in places like Milan or New York City. Lynn thought, “Why not combine the two.” The result is a bottle which presents an original Amalfi Coast antique design taken from a ceramic Lynn owns, in addition to fine blue and white stripes Lynn added to give a twist of modern.

A Brief History of Limoncello

There are a number of theories to where Limoncello (Lee-moan-chello) was first invented. Some say it was by Southern Italian nuns in the 1600s, while others argue it was Neapolitan fishermen who drank it to keep warm while out fishing along the Amalfi coast. Traditionally, Italian families drank Limoncello after dinner to aid digestion, but now the drink has a new lease of life, with a refreshing taste for any time, anywhere. The crema di Limoncello version of the drink has less alcohol compared to the original, which has between 24- 30%.

Lynn runs the company with her son, James Reisigl, and she still has many associates in the industry who are helping with the logistics—from making to importing her product. Lina’s Crema Di Limoncello is made in the Netherlands, and she emphasizes, “It’s an art-form to blend creams with spirits or wines and this is where we felt they had the best blending process.” Sticking very closely to the recipe and using the best ingredients, Lina’s vision has become a smooth pallet of lemon freshness.

Some of the natural ingredients in Lina’s Limoncello include zesty lemon rinds, wine, simple syrup finished off with the best quality cream and naturally sweet lemons—all resulting in an incredible drink.

Tasting Notes

On first smell, a subtle citrus scent can transport you to a Summer’s day in Italy, no matter where your actual location. The taste is a basket of freshness. Juicy lemons without the sour harshness greets the throat with a non-sickly, sweet kick, which is closely followed by the decadence of a great quality, non-heavy cream.

The combination of flavors brings images of Italian families and friends gathering around the lunch table enjoying good food and conversation. This is a drink to share and bring people together in the old traditional Italian family way. Drink on the rocks or add to various cocktails to create the perfect combination of sweet and tart. Lina’s is best consumed cold, so we recommend keeping it in the refrigerator. It can be stored at room temperature, however, even after opening. For maximum flavor, it should be consumed within one year of purchase.