It's aged.... to extract the oil from the lemons and have it completely permeate the alcohol.
I'm not big on 'sweet' either.... which is why I made one low sweet jar this time. But it's still very sweet... it's an after dinner drink and just a shot, perhaps two, is more than enough. Definitely NOT something to drink all evening. Think of it as 'dessert'.
It gets by the 'sweet' problem, for me anyway, because it's extremely 'lemony'... (made that word up). It's also potent.... I'm thinking I have one batch at about 80 proof and the other probably near 100. - JamesJM