The invention relates to a particularly economic, complete method for producing menthol, especially for the production of optically active, essentially enantiomerically and diastereomerically pure L-menthol and of racemic menthol starting from the commercially accessible, inexpensive parent material citral. The method comprises the following steps: a.1 ) catalytic hydrogenation of neral and/or geranial to form citronellal, b.1 ) cyclisation of citronellal to form isopulegol in the presence of an acidic catalyst, c.1 ) purification of isopulegol by crystallisation and d.1 ) catalytic hydrogenation of isopulegol to form menthol.