Beer in the Evening

There’s a strong smell of anise today in the BITE office, we’ve been lucky enough to be given seven bottles of Antica Sambuca to try out, seven different flavours, seven different hangovers perhaps?

If you’ve ever been abroad to the Mediterranean, you’ll recognise the taste of Sambuca as it’s very similar to the Greek Ouzo and Turkish Raki, all distilled from the vapours of aniseed, for that distinct taste.

Now, you’ll probably have heard of Sambuca in its most legendary form, the  ominous “Flaming Sambuca” – some bright spark in history,  decided that it would be a good idea to ignite this rocket fuel liquor and thus many a Saturday night A&E wards up and down the country have been filled with second degree burns victims… You know I once heard a rumor that the world record for sticking flaming Sambucas to your ass was held by a gentleman here in the Cotswold’s (Something we don’t condone!) , I’d love to find out if that’s true or not, a pint to the first person who can confirm or deny this!

Ok, here’s the twist, because the strong aniseed flavor of Sambuca is not appreciated by all palettes’ the brainy folks at Antica have blended in some extra flavours that work well in bar cocktails or simply on their own.  We’ve got our hands on seven prestigious flavours; Classic, Banana, Orange and Mango, Mandarin, Raspberry, Apple and Liquorice.

But first, drink responsibly…
Remember folks, we are doing these shots neat with half a pint of water in-between each shot, also a good hour passes between each shot, drinking responsibly is the new black don’t forget.

Classic Sambuca: 
Chris; “It tastes nice, a lot like liquorice, like those old sweets you used to get”
Steve; “It reminds me of being on a Greek night, a one Sambuca, two Sambuca, three Sambuca floor.”

Banana:
Chris: “It’s horrible, too much like medicine for me”
Steve: “It’s quite sour for a banana taste, this would be good in a punch or something.  I thought it would be sweeter, but I can imagine this being mixed with real banana pieces and tasting spot on”

Orange and Mango:
Chris: “This smells like sweets, like refreshers, and it tastes just like childrens medicine, you know the brightly coloured ones you’d get as a kid.”
Steve: “Fhhu… , tastes vile to me, it’s got too much going on flavour wise for a shooter.”

Mandarin:
Chris:  “This smells like a radox bath, to be fair it doesn’t taste like mandarin but it’s not bad at all.”
Steve: “Too much like gin, I can’t even swallow this” (I had a bad experience once on Gin and I have never drank it since.)

Raspberry:
Chris: “Smells like something from Bodyshop and looks like it too, tastes a bit like Parma violets, quite nice actually”
Steve: “Possibly the best of the lot, nice and sweet, definitely the one to do on its own”

Apple:
Chris: “Smells quite nice, tastes nice too, you have to do the whole shot to taste the fruit flavour which kicks in right at the end.”
Steve: “Tastes like sour apple, I would have liked this to be sweeter maybe, this would work really well in a summer mixer.”

Liquorice:
Chris: “Wow, this is just like super strong version of the classic one, it’s got some real kick”
Steve: “I can’t stand liquorice, but that’s awesome, - definitely the daddy of all these flavours”So, scour the bars for the multicoloured bottles of flavoured Sambuca, we’d advise going for the Liquorice or the Raspberry flavours if you’re looking for a quick shooter. 
In the run up to Christmas we will be reviewing different applications of each flavour as we try our hand at some cocktail making, so stay tuned.

Visit the Antica Sambuca website for contact information.
Can’t wait? Buy Sambuca online from TheDrinkShop.com