The Original

• The most classic sambuca cocktail is an after-dinner shot. Sambuca is best stored chilled in a refrigerator, freezer or wine cooler, and the liquor becomes viscous due to the moderate proof and the higher than average sugar content -- meaning that the liquor pours more slowly than spirits with higher alcohol content. Fill anywhere from a fourth to a third of a snifter with sambuca, then top it with 3 coffee beans, which symbolize health, prosperity and happiness.

Caffeinated Cocktails

• A few different kinds of cocktails call for sambuca as an ingredient and have a coffee bean garnish. One version of the Milano, which is a hot after-dinner drink, blends 1 part sambuca with 8 parts coffee and a dash of sugar -- all topped with whipped cream and coffee beans. Another flavorful cocktail is the black death, which is equal parts sambuca, coffee liqueur, Irish cream and half-and-half layered, and then topped with coffee beans.

Sprightly Shots

• The sweetness of sambuca and the bite of the coffee beans also work in a few shots and shooters. The bumble bee and coffee stick shots are both variations on the black death cocktail: For a bumble shot, chill equal parts sambuca, coffee liqueur and Irish cream; strain into a shot glass; then top with coffee beans. For a coffee stick shot, mix 3 parts coffee liqueur, 2 parts cream and 1 part sambuca, then top with coffee beans.

Boozy and Blended

• The pairing of sambuca and coffee beans works surprisingly well in a few frozen drinks. The coffee sambuca shake can be made either with regular or decaffeinated coffee; made with coffee, half-and-half, sambuca, ice cream -- either coffee or vanilla flavor, whipped cream and coffee beans, this blended cocktail can easily act as a dessert. For an added treat, substitute the coffee beans with chocolate-covered ones. A variation on the milkshake is the espresso-ice sambuca ice cream soda made with coffee ice cream, sambuca, instant espresso powder, club soda and coffee beans.