What is sambuca?

Sambuca is an Italian anise-flavored liqueur that is often enjoyed as an after-dinner digestif. Its main ingredient is star anise, which gives the liqueur its distinctive flavor. Sambuca typically has a high alcohol content, usually ranging from 38% to 42% by volume.

The drink is traditionally clear, though variations like black sambuca, which includes additional flavorings like licorice or witch elder bush, and red sambuca, with added spices and fruit flavors, are also available. One popular way to serve sambuca is "con la mosca" (with the fly), which involves floating a few coffee beans on top of the liqueur. The beans are both decorative and symbolic, often representing health, happiness, and prosperity.

Sambuca can be consumed neat, on the rocks, or diluted with water, which causes it to become cloudy — a characteristic known as "louche." It is also often used in cocktails and can be a popular choice for flambéing.

Notable brands of sambuca include Molinari, which is one of the most widely recognized, but there are numerous other regional and artisan producers throughout Italy.