Working at the bar counter, it was a little strange for me that many people did not know how to drink sambuca properly. In my understanding, this is a drink that for some reason still belongs to the “elite”, which has long been equal in popularity to tequila or absinthe. On the one hand, the liquor has become popular thanks to club culture, because the process of drinking it looks enchanting and exciting. Club life is not for everyone. But today you can buy sambuca in almost any supermarket and the price has long ceased to “bite”. I described how to drink absinthe in a previous article (you can find it here), it’s time to dispel some myths about sambuca.
Italian sambuca liqueur – essence
So, sambuca is an Italian liqueur with a pronounced taste of anise. This is not anise vodka, as some sources like to write – anise is something completely different. In addition, sambuca is not a liquor in the usual sense of the word, that is, not a sweet drink of low strength. It is rather a bitter tincture with the addition of sugar. The process of its production is similar to the production of absinthe, that is, first an infusion is made, and only then it is distilled – you can read more about making homemade sambuca in this article. The alcohol content in sambuca is about 38-42%. She insists on anise stars and various aromatic herbs; The recipe is kept secret by each manufacturer.
A number of useful properties are attributed to the drink, which, however, explains its pharmacy taste – many identify sambuca with pectusin, a children’s cold medicine. I have observed the therapeutic effect more than once 🙂 A well-heated sambuca helps with colds, relieves coughs, and has an anti-inflammatory effect. It is also believed that it strengthens the immune system. It is authentically known that the drink stimulates digestive activity: as an aperitif, it stimulates the appetite, and as a digestif, it improves digestion.
Why does sambuca burn? The question is reasonable, because the fortress in it is like in vodka, but the density is much higher due to the high sugar content. Fusel oils are burning, which have a low combustion temperature – the flame is bright blue. This means that sambuca should be consumed in small quantities, since various impurities hit the body hard and after heavy drinking, a hangover can hardly be avoided.
As for the post-Soviet space, the drink has become quite widespread in our country – it is an integral attribute of any bar, restaurant, and even more so a nightclub. In the domestic market, the drink is represented by several popular brands: Molinari, Itaka, Pallini. You can also find rarer brands: Sambuca Dei Cesari Luxardo, Ramazzotti, Lazzaroni 1851, Casoni and Vaccari. However, they rarely drink this drink correctly. Let’s fix this.
How to drink sambuca at home
Let’s move on to the most interesting. The culture of drinking sambuca was largely formed due to its properties to burn well. This is successfully used by bartenders, offering their guests not only to drink, but also to have fun. I have identified 10 main ways to drink sambuca that I have encountered and tried, if not on myself, then on my guests in bars 🙂
In its pure form. As mentioned earlier, sambuca is both a good aperitif and an excellent digestif. Therefore, it can be drunk in its pure form before and after meals. 40-50 ml is enough to whet the appetite or improve digestion.
With water or ice. Unlike whiskey (meaning the fading taste and aroma of whiskey with ice, which is described in detail in this article), sambuca behaves well with ice – it quenches thirst well, and cold water helps to fully reveal the taste of the drink. Like absinthe, sambuca becomes cloudy when water is added, which is due to the content of essential oils in it, which form an emulsion with water. The amount of water is selected individually, according to taste.
Frozen. Put the bottle in the freezer for several hours. After that, you will get an excellent soft drink that can be consumed in its pure form with a slice of orange or lemon.
Burning sambuca. Suitable just for medicinal purposes: the drink must be set on fire and allowed to burn out, and then drunk warm, without snacking. So sambuca is not drunk everywhere.
Choose high-quality dishes with thick walls, as heated glass can break. Be careful with a burning drink – it ignites quickly and can leave burns!
Italians are used to drinking this drink a little differently. They do not set fire to sambuca, considering it a sacrilege over the drink. In Italy, it is consumed in more traditional ways.
Sambuka con mosca (literally “with men”). 3 whole grains of coffee are placed in a glass with sambuca, which symbolize health, wealth and happiness. In many sources, this method is accompanied by setting fire to the drink, but in Italy, as noted above, the drink is not set on fire – the grains act as a snack and give sambuca a piquant taste.
Сaffe correct. A very popular drink in Italy, where coffee is treated with great respect. Sambuca is added to coffee instead of sugar. Most often, to 4 parts of espresso, it is enough to add 1 part of anise liqueur. The quantity can be increased to 2 parts (i.e. 30 ml of espresso and 15 ml of sambuca). Also, the liquor can be served separately – drink it in small sips and drink it with fragrant deep-roast coffee, which is so loved by the quick-tempered natives of Italy.
Method in two glasses. It is also sometimes referred to as the “powerful method”. Most often in this way they drink sambuca in nightclubs. We need cognac (snifter), rocks (glass with wide straight walls), napkin, straw, saucer, lighter, 3 coffee beans and sambuca (25-50 ml). The grains in this case are a tribute to the classic Italian recipe – they need to be put in cognac, and sambuca should also be added there. Before lighting, prepare a “platform” for vapors: put a napkin with a hole in the middle on a saucer, where you pass the short part of the tube.
Put the cognac on the rock, warm it slightly with a lighter and set fire to the contents. Then rotate the burning glass by the leg around its axis for 10-60 seconds, depending on your preferences (whether you like hot or slightly warmed sambuca). After that, pour the burning sambuca into rocks and cover it with cognac on top – the flame will go out. Transfer the upside down cognac to a saucer. Drink sambuca and breathe cognac vapor through a straw, chew the grains. The sequence can be changed: first breathe in pairs, and then drink a drink. To heighten the effect, you can drip the remnants of the drink on the bottom of an inverted cognac and inhale them through your nose through a short tube. We called it “sambuca with cocaine” 🙂
!Important. Take lightly roasted coffee beans – burnt ones will give an unpleasant bitter taste!
Better to see once:
Extreme way. This option is exclusively club and requires some skill from the bartender. In the first case, you need to pour sambuca into your mouth, wipe your lips dry and tilt your head back without closing your mouth. The bartender must light the drink right in your mouth. When you feel a slight heat, close your mouth and swallow the drink. This method is impressive, but the danger here is minimal. In the second case, the drink is heated in cognac and poured into the mouth while burning. Do not try this at home, as this method of consumption requires skill and the steady hand of an experienced bartender. It is very important here not to be frightened and not to close your mouth; for insurance, the area around the mouth can be moistened with water.
Sambuca at home. Take a ceramic teapot and fill it with boiling water. Then, drain the water from the kettle and immediately add 50 ml of sambuca. Shake the contents and drink, but before that, exhale deeply and inhale the vapors of the drink through the spout of the teapot.
As part of cocktails. Sambuca is good because it has a high density, which means it can be used as a basis for shots. Its transparency also plays into the hands, which allows you to make the drink even more spectacular by dropping Baileys or Grenadine (pomegranate syrup) into it. It is rarely added to long drinks, because the anise flavor dominates the cocktail and interrupts the rest of the ingredients. Of the shots with sambuca, the most popular are Hiroshima (sambuca, Baileys, absinthe, grenadine), Kazantip (Kalua, sambuca, grenadine, Baileys and absinthe) and, probably, Audi (sambuca, Malibu, Cointreau, white rum).
I also heard that sambuca can be drunk with cold milk, but not mixed, but washed down. It’s hard to imagine, but worth a try. Now you know how to drink sambuca in almost all currently known ways. Tell your friends and acquaintances about it or don’t tell it – you will be the keeper of the sacrament of drinking some alcoholic beverages 🙂 Read our magazine, drink only good things and do it right!
PS How not to drink sambuca: