Three coffee beans float in clear, sweet anise liqueur. A brief blue flame warms the sambuca and toasts the beans, releasing a smell of roasted coffee that blends with the liquorice.
1 oz
sambuca clear sambucae.g. Molinari · Ramazzotti · Luxardo · Romana
3
coffee bean roasted
Garnish: Three coffee beans · Ice: Served up, no ice
Flaming Sambuca
Sweet, intense anise and liquorice with toasted coffee notes and a warming finish. Strong and syrupy.
Sambuca is an Italian anise liqueur, and serving it with three coffee beans is a long-standing Italian custom known as sambuca con la mosca, "with the fly", because the dark beans look like flies on the surface. The three beans are commonly said to stand for health, happiness and prosperity.
Lighting the sambuca is a later bar tradition that spread through Europe and beyond as a show for guests. The flame gently warms the liqueur and roasts the beans. Because sambuca is around 38 to 42 percent alcohol, the flame is real and should always be put out before anyone drinks.
It is Italian custom; the beans are often said to stand for health, happiness and prosperity.
Never drink while it burns. Put the flame out completely and wait until the glass rim has cooled.
You can; many people chew them after the shot for a bitter coffee finish.
The perfect sound
Fiery, loud and a little bit wild.
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