Tag: Italian liqueur

Despite what its ancient-sounding name might imply, Sambuca is a definitively modern Italian invention. It didn’t emerge from Roman antiquity or medieval monasteries, but rather from a small coastal town in the late 19th century. The clear answer to “where does Sambuca come from” points squarely to Italy, specifically the vision of Luigi Manzi in […]

Sambuca is unequivocally from Italy. Specifically, the modern anise-flavored liqueur traces its commercial origins to Civitavecchia, a coastal town in the Lazio region northwest of Rome, where it was first produced in the mid-19th century. While similar anise-based drinks have a long history across the Mediterranean, the Sambuca we recognize today is a distinctly Italian […]