Cocktails with Black sambuca liqueur
Black sambuca is the dark version of sambuca, Italy’s sweet, intensely anise-flavored liqueur.
ABV38–40%
How it's used
Black sambuca is drunk neat or over ice as a digestif. Its color makes it the usual choice for a dark band in layered shots. The sugar makes it thick and syrupy. A splash of water turns it cloudy as the anethole comes out of solution.
Substitutes for Black sambuca liqueur
Clear sambuca
In the same amount it tastes much the same, minus the berry note. The drink turns clear, and in a layered shot the dark band is missing.
Anise spirits
Anisette has close to the same sugar. Pastis and ouzo are far less sweet: with them, add a barspoon of 2:1 syrup for each 15 ml.
Storage
The same anise chemistry as clear sambuca: cold makes it cloudy, and warmth clears it again. The color comes from elderberry or added coloring, and daylight fades it. Keep it closed and in the dark; it does not need the fridge.
