10 Best Sambuca Drinks (+ Fun Cocktails)

Show off your fancy mixology skills with these easy and delicious sambuca drinks.

If you’re a fan of licorice, you’ll love these anise-heavy cocktails.

Sambuca is a colorless Italian liqueur made from star anise (though some brands are making colorful and fun flavors).

It’s traditionally served neat with a coffee bean in the glass. However, you can add it to coffee and cocktails, too!

Of course, these sambuca drinks are an acquired taste. So if you don’t like licorice, you might want to keep scrolling.

Sambuca Cocktails & Drink Recipes

1. Slippery Nipple

This provocatively named and visually pleasing shot is a must-make for your next party.

Sweet and fun to make, it’s the perfect drink to get the party started!

A slippery nipple is made with grenadine, sambuca, and creamy Baileys.

The grenadine is optional but highly recommended for the wow factor. 

You could also use a maraschino cherry in the bottom of the glass to get that red pop.

Tasty, fun, and super pretty, this is definitely a shot worth toasting to. 

Ingredients: Sambuca, Irish cream liqueur, grenadine

2. Sazerac Cocktail

Kickstart the Mardi Gras celebrations with this Sazerac cocktail!

It uses one of New Orleans’ oldest and most famous rye whiskeys, Sazerac, hence the name.

This cocktail screams elegance. And its origins go back all the way to the 1800s! So it’s like you’re sipping on history.

What better way to celebrate Mardi Gras?

Swirl the sambuca around the cocktail glass to give the drink a lovely licorice flavor.

Then pour in the rye whiskey, add a sugar cube soaked with bitters, and garnish with a lemon twist. Perfection!

Ingredients: Sambuca, rye whiskey, lemon twist, sugar cube soaked with bitters or Angostura bitters

3. Coffee Sambuca

This coffee sambuca is a breeze to make. It’s ready in minutes, and it’s brimming with intricate flavors.

There’s so much to love, from the earthy coffee taste to the strong anise flavor. 

To make this Italian drink, all you need to do is float three coffee beans in one to two ounces of sambuca.

Serve it as an aperitif or digestif, and sip away to your heart’s continent.

Fun fact: The three coffee beans traditionally symbolize health, happiness, and prosperity.

And it’s considered bad luck to use an even number of beans.

So, stick to three!

Ingredients: Sambuca, whole coffee beans

4. Black Widow

Serve these spooktacular black widow cocktails this Halloween season, and everyone will thank you.

This deliciously refreshing cocktail is loaded with aniseed flavors and features Chambord, Cointreau, black sambuca, and soda.

It’s everything you need for your next scary movie night!

Decorate this devilishly dark drink with raspberries, licorice, and a black sugar rim.

Who needs Halloween candy when the adult-only treats taste this good? 

Ingredients: black sugar rim, Chambord, Cointreau, black Samcbuca, soda, frozen raspberries, licorice strap, ice

5. The Blue Jelly Fish

If you’re looking to seriously impress your friends, you need to whip up these blue jellyfish shots.

It’s one of the most mesmerizing cocktails you can make! 

All you need to make these awesome-looking shots is vodka, Blue Curacao, Sambuca, and half and half.

The key to getting that jellyfish effect is to use a dropper.

Add a tiny splash of half and half, and watch the jellyfish come to life in the blue waters! 

Ingredients: blue Curacao, Sambuca, vodka, half and half

6. Sambuca Twist

This fresh and zesty sambuca twist is the perfect drink for hot summer evenings.

It’s perfectly refreshing and bursting with fresh fruity goodness. 

In this bright cocktail, you’ll mix freshly squeezed orange and lime juice with sambuca and ice.

It’s the perfect way to beat the heat. So, whip it up the next time you fancy a cooling afternoon tipple.

Pro Tip: To properly mix the syrupy sambuca, make sure to use a shaker filled with ice. That way, the drink gets nice and icy cold too.

Ingredients: ice, orange juice, lime juice, Sambuca, orange garnish

7. The Dude’s Delight

If you love a good old white Russian, you’ll adore this cocktail, especially if you’re craving something that packs a little more punch.

The Dude’s Delight consists of anise-infused sambuca and chilled coffee.

It has an amazing bittersweet flavor with plenty of complexity.

Garnish your creamy cocktail with a light dusting of cocoa powder, and you’re good to go.

Ingredients: vodka, coffee liqueur, Sambuca, milk, cold coffee, cocoa powder

8. Caffè Caffè – A Coffee Cocktail

Need a tasty and unique cocktail for brunch? Give this caffè caffè a go!

Wonderfully creamy and deliciously smooth, this one only takes five minutes to make.

Simply add Romana Sambuca Caffe, bourbon, and cold brew to a cocktail shaker with ice.

Shake it up like Taylor Swift, then pour it into your favorite glass with whipped heavy cream and cinnamon.

It’s so much more elegant than Irish coffee!

Ingredients: Sambuca, bourbon, cold brew, heavy cream, cinnamon

9. Pink Grapefruit Cocktail with Sambuca

This pink grapefruit cocktail with sambuca is the perfect drink to enjoy under the summer sun.

It’s flawlessly balanced with bittersweet citrus flavors and a sweet anise aroma. 

And not only is it a fabulous summertime refresher, but it looks stunning too.

Make it for your next brunch date, weekend happy hour, or afternoon pick-me-up. No matter when it’s a winner.

Ingredients: Sambuca, pink grapefruit juice, cinnamon simple syrup, egg white, orange zest, sprig of fresh thyme

10. Anaïs Nin

Creamy, dreamy, and oh-so-boozy, this Anaïs Nin cocktail is a real treat.

It’s loaded with silky smooth coffee and sambuca, as well as creme de banana liqueur and half-and-half.

Does it get any better than that? 

Shake it up for a fantastic, creamy, boozy pick-me-up. It’s indulgent, delicious, and downright mouthwatering. 

Ingredients: creme de banane liqueur, Sambuca, half and half, coffee, whipped cream