Sambuca
Encyclopedia
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
anise
Anise
Anise , Pimpinella anisum, also called aniseed, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia. Its flavor resembles that of liquorice, fennel, and tarragon.- Biology :...
-flavoured, usually colourless, liqueur
Liqueur
A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.The...
. Its most common variety is often referred to as white sambuca to differentiate it from other varieties that are deep blue in colour (black sambuca) or bright red (red sambuca).
Ingredients
Sambuca contains essential oilEssential oil
An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils or aetherolea, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove...
s obtained from star anise
Star anise
Illicium verum, commonly called Star anise, star aniseed, or Chinese star anise, is a spice that closely resembles anise in flavor, obtained from the star-shaped pericarp of Illicium verum, a small native evergreen tree of northeast Vietnam and southwest China...
and elder
Elder
Elder is a surname that means "older than you".* American Indian elder-In religion:* Elder , person valued for his wisdom who accordingly holds a particular position of responsibility in a Christian group** Elder...
flowers, Sambucus nigra. The oils are added to pure alcohol, a concentrated solution of sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
, and other flavouring. It is commonly bottled at 42% alcohol by volume
Alcohol by volume
Alcohol by volume is a standard measure of how much alcohol is contained in an alcoholic beverage .The ABV standard is used worldwide....
.
History
The etymology is disputed: the Molinari company states that the name Sambuca comes from an Arabic word: Zammut. This was the name of an anise-flavored drink that arrived to the port of CivitavecchiaCivitavecchia
Civitavecchia is a town and comune of the province of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located 80 kilometers west-north-west of Rome, across the Mignone river. The harbor is formed by two piers and a breakwater, on which is a lighthouse...
by ships coming from the East
East
East is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.East is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of west and is perpendicular to north and south.By convention, the right side of a map is east....
. The Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
states, however, that the term comes from the Latin word sambucus, meaning "elderberry
Elderberry
Sambucus is a genus of between 5 and 30 species of shrubs or small trees in the moschatel family, Adoxaceae. It was formerly placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, but was reclassified due to genetic evidence...
".
Other proposals are that it could have come from the Indian name for fennel
Fennel
Fennel is a plant species in the genus Foeniculum . It is a member of the family Apiaceae . It is a hardy, perennial, umbelliferous herb, with yellow flowers and feathery leaves...
, sounf or soambu, where it is a regular ingredient in cooking, or that it comes from "sambuq
Sambuk
A Sambuk, Sanbuk or Sambuq is a type of dhow, a traditional wooden Arabic sailing vessel.It has a characteristic keel design, with a sharp curve right below the top of the prow...
", a type of Arabic ship which may originally have been used to import the drink and may hence have given it its name.
The Greek word Sambuca was first used as the name of another elderberry liquor that was created in Civitavecchia about 130 years ago.
The first commercial version of such a drink started at the end of 1800 in Civitavecchia thanks to Luigi Manzi that started selling Sambuca Manzi, that is still produced today. In 1945, soon after the end of Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, commendatore
Commendatore
Literally Commander, the official title of Commendatore is awarded by decree of the President of Italy to individuals who are given this honour in the Italian Order of Merit known as the Ordine al Merito della Repubblica and other orders of knighthood...
Angelo Molinari started producing Sambuca Extra Molinari, that helped the diffusion of Sambuca all over Italy.
It is speculated that it was inspired by the success Greek ouzo
Ouzo
Ouzo is an anise-flavored aperitif that is widely consumed in Greece and Cyprus, and a symbol of Greek culture.-History:Traditionally, tsipouro is said to have been the pet project of a group of 14th century monks living in a monastery on holy Mount Athos. One version of it is flavored with anise...
had in Italy and France in the 19th century.
Serving
Neat
Sambuca can be served neatStraight up (bartending)
In bartending, the term straight up refers to an alcoholic drink that is shaken or stirred with ice and then strained and served without ice in a stemmed glass....
, as Ammazzacaffè
Ammazzacaffè
Ammazzacaffè is a small glass of liqueur usually consumed after coffee to dull its taste. It is a common Italian custom, especially after a generous tasty festive meal....
or just as refreshment.
On the rocks
Sambuca can be served with ice, optionally adding some coffee beans as ornament. The ice enhances the flavors and changes the color of the drink from transparent to dense white.With toasted coffee beans
In Italy it is common to serve neat Sambuca with some floating coffee beans dropped on it: it is called Sambuca con la mosca (literally, "Sambuca with fly"). The beans are there as an ornament, but they can be chewed to increase the taste of anise. It is usually served in restaurants with 3 coffee beans and is said that the beans represent health, happiness, and prosperity, or to signify the husband, wife, and mistress.The original meaning of the 3 beans was to signify the Christian Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost).
In coffee
Sambuca can be added to coffee as a sweetener instead of sugar. The mixed drink in Italian is called Caffè correttoCaffè corretto
Caffè corretto, an Italian beverage, consists of a shot of espresso "corrected" with a shot of liquor, usually grappa, and sometimes sambuca or brandy. It is also known as an "espresso corretto"...
(literally, "corrected coffee"), though more commonly caffè corretto refers to grappa
Grappa
Grappa is an alcoholic beverage, a fragrant, grape-based pomace brandy of Italian origin that contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume...
and coffee.
With water
Sambuca can be served by adding fresh water, becoming a refreshing drink with less alcoholic bite.Flaming Sambuca
Sambuca may be served in a shot glass and then set on fire for a second or two, in order to increase its flavour.Another alternative is to catch the fumes in a snifter
Snifter
A snifter — also called a balloon — is a type of stemware, a short-stemmed glass whose vessel has a wide bottom and a relatively narrow top. It is mostly used to serve aged brown spirits such as brandy and whisky...
, and then snort the heated shot, after which the fumes are sucked up from the snifter through a straw
Drinking straw
A drinking straw is a short tube intended for transferring a beverage from its container to the mouth of the drinker by use of suction. A thin tube of plastic or other material, straight or with an accordion-like living hinge, it is employed by being held with one end in the mouth and another end...
, this method is similar to the controversially named Sambuca Gas Chamber, where a measure of Sambuca is poured into a low but wide glass, it is then set on fire using a long match, then it is left to burn for no more than 3 seconds before it is extinguished, the Sambuca is snorted, the glass is turned upside down and tilted upwards so the fumes can be enjoyed through a straw.
See also
- List of anise-flavored liqueurs
- List of cocktails