ROBBING banks required too much planning and no one wanted to buy our kidneys.

So in order to beat the cost of living crisis, Swift Half has resorted to making our own booze. (Technically what follows is an infusion rather than a brew, but make it we did nonetheless)

Read on to discover how we made our own slice of Italy right here in Brighton.

Limoncello is renowned for its vibrant yellow colour, sweet lemon flavour and strong alcohol content.

Originating from Southern Italy, particularly in sunny regions such as Campania, Capri, and Sorrento, it is made by steeping lemon zests in high-proof spirits, followed by the addition of sugar.

This process extracts the oils from the lemon peels, giving the booze its distinctive taste.

It is traditionally made with a high-strength grain alcohol, but any clear spirit can be used.

We opted to use vodka as we had a box left over from our wedding. (yes that is correct, we had a box of vodka at our wedding and that is probably the same reason that it was left over.)

The next job was to ‘pare the zest from the lemons’. This isn’t as straight-forward as peeling the lemons as it is imperative (we’re told) to remove as much of the pith as is physically possible or your drink will taste bitter.

You are advised to use organic unwaxed lemons, although we didn’t bother with the organic variety as our local Co-op – which isn’t as posh as Britain’s swankiest Spar – didn’t have the goods.

Once we had the peels pith-less we left them submerged in the jar with the vodka for around two weeks, agitating the jar regularly to allow for the best infusion.

We then sieved the concoction, knocked up some sugar syrup (Google it) and mixed it to taste, which was approximately 30 per cent syrup to 70 per cent infusion.

Lastly we bottled it and left it to rest and chill for a week before tucking in.

How did it turn out?

Surprisingly, despite using poor quality vodka, I was really impressed with the outcome. It tasted better than decent, although maybe not right up there with the best brews in the land, in my humble opinion.

I’ve even had an Italian round since who didn’t look too shocked at the taste (or at least hid her disgust well) and another friend said it was as good as they have had in a restaurant (didn’t specify which restaurant).

While I can’t comment on the veracity of the above comments, I was certainly pleased with the result and will no doubt be rolling out the apéritif to whoever walks through our door.

And then rolling them out afterwards hopefully.