... It was first made in 1821by the Luxardo family, after whom the official make of the drink is named. The combination of ingredients makes the alcohol content in Sambuca 38%.
So time to crack open that bottle and pour myself a shot. The first thing that will hit you is just how strong the ... Read review
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A review by Andy.mack on Luxardo Sambuca September 9th, 2003
Author's product rating:
Value for money
Excellent
Product Quality
Good
Product package
Good
Taste
Nice
How loyal are you to this brand?
Very
Advantages:
Much better than say After Shock
Disadvantages:
The after Taste
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
As many of you will no doubt be aware I have recently returned from my yearly foray to the Reading Festival. And of course as I mentioned previously a bottle of some variety of spirit really is a must, Richard has his bottle of Whiskey, Pete his bottle of Archers and me well I’m sure you know that my tipple of choice has got to be Sambuca.
Now Sambuca is a drink I know almost everyone has heard of but it is actually surprising the amount of people that haven’t actually tried it. Now of course you can be put off straight away by the fact that it is a shot and of course the smell but I’ll get to all that shortly. But first up a brief history lesson and I will try to keep it brief.
So what is Sambuca and where does it come from. Well traditionally it is an Italian after dinner drink, made from traditional Italian products, with the main ingredient being Sicilian aniseed. And finished off with six months of gentle maturation in Finish ash wood vaults. It was first made in 1821by the Luxardo family, after whom the official make of the drink is named. The combination of ingredients makes the alcohol content in Sambuca 38%.
So time to crack open that bottle and pour myself a shot. The first thing that will hit you is just how strong the aniseed will smell. It is almost an overcoming smell and makes a shot of Sambuca instantly recognizable. The taste as well is a sensation that only Sambuca can really create, with a strong taste of aniseed as well means that it can be hard to knock back. The potency of the alcohol seems to be heightened by the taste, which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending upon how you look at it.
And the final thing that will get you about a shot of Sambuca has to be the after taste, it’s very harsh with the aniseed seemingly being left in the back of your throat, which still containing alcohol proceeds to get you just a little bit more drunk. Of course a swig of something else is always advisable to wash the taste from the back of your mouth, as you can still smell the aniseed, which on occasion I have known to make myself and others a little bit ill.
If you are intending on having Sambuca and don’t just want to take it as a straight shot, you can always use the suggested method for serving it. Basically you take your shot glass and place three coffee beans on the top before preceding to set the drink alight. Now obviously before you actually start to drink it the best idea is to put the flame out by placing your hand over the glass, to stop the oxygen getting to it. Now I’ve never known anyone to burn their hand doing this but be careful. Having burnt a bit of the alcohol the taste is also altered and isn’t as harsh as just drinking it straight.
To actually buy it most supermarkets will sell it by the bottle, the last one I bought from a supermarket was from Sainsburys and for a 500ml bottle set me back the pricey sum of £12.50. However I now buy it from Cost-Co when I do need a bottle and the 1L bottle I bought from there came to just under £18 so a pretty good bargain considering.
So there we have it a quality Italian Liqueur that works if your looking to get very drunk, or for just a casual drink to warm you up before a night out. The after taste is the only downside of it for me, but I’m sure the aniseed taste will put a lot of people off. One last thing if your out on a big night, birthday or the like, then why not try something a few of us do every now and then, Every hour on the hour have a shot of Sambuca and see how many you can go for.
Advantages: It is a great pre-party drink and will really help you to get in the mood! Disadvantages: Can be hard to find.....
...bars in the UK. Luxardo is the most poular and in my opinion the best brand, although Opal and Romano are also good. About Sambuca
********************************************************************
Sambuca is an Italian liquer with an anise-flavor, produced by the infusion of elder bush and licorice, sweetened with sugar and flavoured by a secret combination of herbs and spices. It is similar to nature to Ouzo and Pernod. White Sambuca is the ... ...within cocktails. About Luxardo ********************************************************************
The Luxardo family have been making liqueurs since 1821. Their Sambuca is an infusion of green Sicilian aniseed, plump Paduan elderberries and the purest grain alcohol. Luxardo Sambuca is rounded and smoothed by six months gentle maturation in Finnish wood vats.
The Bottle. *********************************************************************
The ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Strong, warming,tastes great. Disadvantages: Not everyone likes Aniseed.
...malts and wheats of Whisky!
Luxardo Sambuca claims to be "rounded and smoothed by six months gentle maturation in Finnish wood vats."
This would explain wh it is so expensive if they have to transport it to Finland for maturation or export the wood down to italy!
What is the best way to drink it?
Well, it is VERY strong so it is not something to be drunk by the pint! No. Instead you normally drink it from a large surface brandy glass or shot ... ...also famous for a different type of drinking.
The Fire trick
Fill your brandy glass with a fair covering of Sambuca. Not too much or it wont work properly. Next drop 3 coffee beans into the glass. If you dont have any, dont worry. the Sambuca works perfectly well on its own.
Next, you SET FIRE to the drink. You will notice a lillac/blue flame eminating form the glass. Now cover it with your hand (it wont burn if you are quick!) and extinguish ...
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Advantages: great in drinking games!!! Disadvantages: an acquired taste
...which brand you go for, Luxardo is the best for taste and quality. Regarding the price, it is similar in price range to a good vodka - about 15 pounds a bottle. No, this is definitely a ‘down-in-one’ type of drink. It can be drunk in shots straight from the bottle or set it alight and allow it to warm slightly, blow out the blue flame that flickers over the drink and down it!!! It goes down a lot nicer warm!
Traditionally in Italy, Sambuca ... ...and set alight, although quite honestly I’ve never tried this method – I don’t know of any clubs that have coffee beans, plus I’m not sure what you are supposed to do with them!!!
So if you are having a night out or night in with your mates and fancy something to get the party started which is a bit different then Sambuca is something you should try!!! Particularly whilst playing drinking games...
If anyone knows of other ...
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Advantages: Sweet, special, like no other. Disadvantages: hangovers, memory problems.
I discovered this drink while at university....well it was my first few years at university. This drink has history, with a story of a french waitress communicating with her lover by the amount of coffe beans she placed in his sambuca glass. The classy way to drink this strong intoxicatinbg spirit is too place three coffee beans on the top of a shot then lighting (aka flaming sambuca) the shot and letting it burn. Putting the flame out is recommended ... ...You can also hold some sambuca in your mouth and set fire to it, again I would not recommend unless you are prepared to risk the burning of your facial area internally and externally. The fianl way to drink is straight from the bottle prefereably with some mates ideally with a sports team or society. the taste is very sweet and sickly in fact if you leave sambuca for a month or so it soldifies over and you can tip the glass upside down and it doesn't ...
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Advantages: alcoholic and quite easy to drink Disadvantages: expensive and has a queer after taste
...of fun.
White Luxardo sambuca can be purchased from any supermarket, it's not too expensive, and if you've never had it before, it's most definatly worth a try. It's great to drink before you go out, and at most bars it's not too pricey for a shot, generally around £1.50-£2.00, and if you're a lucky lucky student, then i'm sure you can get it even cheaper.
and at only 86 kCals a shot.... ah, that's where alcohol fails us all.
but anyway, if you ...
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Advantages: Get Drunk Quick, Large Percentage of Alcohol Disadvantages: Expensive, It Burns
...consideration, what is the best value for money? For this we need prices. I work in a bar and will use the prices we charge as examples. Aftershock is charged at £2.10 for 35ml, meanwhile both Corky's and Stiffy's is £1.40, and Sourz is just £1.30. We sell Sambuca, Tequila and Midori which can all be drunk as shots, these are all £1.55. This shows that, at least from the prices in our bar Aftershock is much more expensive than all other shots, perhaps suggesting that other shots are better value. By going to Asda.co.uk the prices for various shots are as follows per litre Aftershock is £29.48, Sourz is £13.91, LuxardoSambuca £19.40 and Olmeca Gold Tequila is £20.96, showing to everyone that Aftershock is poor value for money.
As with many other shots Aftershock can be combined together with other spirits to make cocktails, after looking at a few...
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