Summary

- Sambuca
- The aniseed drink loved by Italians
- Absinthe and pastis
- Ouzo, Tsipouro and Tsikoudia
- Raki and Arak
- Anís de Chinchón

Anise (Pimpinella anisum) is a plant originally cultivated in Egypt and Asia Minor, but now also in warmer climates. Its seeds have different properties and act as expectorant, anti-spasmodic, carminative, anti-microbial, galactogogue. Moreover, as many other herbs, it is widely used for its aromatic action. it can be found in many liqueurs' recipes, together with other aromas, while in some parts of Europe and Middle East there is a long tradition of beverages specifically anise-flavoured.

Sambuca
Sambuca is a sweet anise-based liqueur, typical of the Italian tradition. The term usually refers to the transparent version, while some other dark versions exist (the Black Sambuca), even if they are not as common as the white one.
The liqueur is prepared by the steam distillation of the star aniseeds. The obtained essential oil, very fragrant, is infused with pure alcohol, then some concentrated sugar is added, together with other natural flavours.
Many confuse the name Sambuca with the tree "sambuco" (elder), believing that the liqueur is elder-based, but this is not true. The origin of the name Sambuca is Arabian. It probably is an Italianization of the term Zammut, which indicated an anise-based drink that first came to the harbours of Italy onboard of ships coming from the East. People in Civitavecchia, an Italian port city near Rome, already produced, at that time, the anise-based liqueur, and maybe they gave it the name "Sambuca" for trading convenience: that liqueur started to be called Sambuca around 130 years ago, and people in Civitavecchia still produce it in large quantities today.
There are different ways to drink Sambuca, but the most common is maybe straight and flaming, with two coffee beans.

Sambuca is always all the rage in Italy, as shown by the following reportage written by Marco Bosi for Bar Business.

Sambuca, the aniseed drink loved by Italians.
According to AcNielsen data illustrated in the Federvini market Osservatorio, the production of Sambuca in 2003 reached 5.3 million litres, while the actual consumption trend registered +3,9% on the previous year. Of particular interest are the Horeca and modern channels which share equal portions of sales, which around 50%.

Without doubt the market leader for Sambuca is Sambuca Molinari. The historic brand recently decided to update its image. After doing some research on the image of Sambuca, despite a market quota of 87%, the company decided it was time to change the look of its product.
"The re-styling is the first ever since the company was set up - says Inge Molinari commercial director for Italy - It has come about because of the need to 'dress' the product more elegantly and up-to-date. As far as ingredients are concerned, the product itself remains identical. We have made the label and the actual bottle more aesthetically appealing whilst maintaining signs that render the bottle recognisable in the bar; two red lines on the cap, the logo and stem ".
Ten years ago Sambuca Molinari launched a modern and dynamic communication campaign which helped to modernise the image of the product and bring it closer to a younger generation. "Today, alongside the traditional adult consumer a younger, 25 to 35 year old drinker who doesn't see sambuca as an old fashioned product has been added - continues Inge Molinari - In any case we are very careful not to attract the attention of very young people. Just consider that in the nineteen-seventies we had an ad featuring Walter Chiari saying - "Drinking a lot is bad, drinking badly is worse, drink little but drink well".
Molinari's communication campaign is quite intense.
"10% of our turnover is put back into communication - says the commercial director for Italy- which is part of the success of Molinari. In general we concentrate on television marketing, however in 2003 we also did a lot of radio marketing, and since January we have also been advertising in cinemas".
The bar channel is of particular strategic interest for the brand.
"In 2004 we set aside part of our budget for investments aimed at bars and trendy locales in order to have more direct contact with the public and with the final consumer" concludes Inge Molinari.

There are a number of sambuca brands on the Italian market. These include Sambuca Borghetti (F.lli Branca) and Sambuca Ramazzotti (Distillerie Ramazzotti), both extraordinarily high quality liquors.
Opal Nera, which has been made by Distillerie Francoli since 1989 has enjoyed international success. The Ghemme based company launched Opal Bianca, a white sambuca made from selected base materials, last year.
Another historic sambuca brand is Sambuca Borsci which has never launched any promotional and communication campaigns specific to its brand. "We have never launched initiatives specific to this product as such - explains Giuseppina Borsci, commercial director of the company - because we get by on the knowledge that we offer our clients an excellent quality product at the right price. It's not for nothing that a couple of years ago a large Irish importer took various sambuca samples from different brands and choose us over the others... since then we have been exporting consistently! Even in the USA Sambuca Borsci sits beside Elsir S. Marzano in distribution".
Then of course there is Sambuca Dei Cesari, produced by Luxardo. Sambuca Dei Cesari is aimed at the Horeca and specialist shops. It has received various prestigious awards including being considered 'The best tasting sambuca in the world' at the 1998 International Wine and Spirits Competition in London, while in 1999 it received the highest score (90/100) amongst white sambucas in the 'Buying Guide to Spirits' from the Beverage Testing Institute (Usa).

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