Dive Bar Jukebox with Emmett Burke
Presented by See the Elephant Amaro
Today’s LAST CALL Dive Bar Jukebox is free to all readers thanks to the generous support of See the Elephant Amaro.
Produced in Agropoli near Salerno, See the Elephant Amaro di Rucola is made using local herbs and botanicals—including wild rucola (“arugula”)—and is considered a “zero kilometer,” farm-to-bottle amaro with all the key ingredients sourced from the Cilento Coast region of southern Italy. It’s an ideal “gateway” amaro for those just starting to explore the amari category—flavorful, sweet, bold, and complex, with just a touch of bitterness.
In a new ongoing series with LAST CALL and See the Elephant Amaro, we’ll be journeying around the country to spotlight talented bartenders with a passion for amaro and ask them to share the recipe for their original cocktail made with See the Elephant Amaro.
Today we welcome Amanda Phelps, the Beverage Manager at Frannie & the Fox—a wood-fired restaurant with Italian sensibilities and an epic courtyard perfect for al fresco aperitivo—located in the Hotel Emeline in Charleston, South Carolina, to learn more about her Aereo Elefante cocktail.
How would you describe your personal style or point of view as a bartender?
Phelps: My view as a bartender is "open." Whether it’s classic drinks or newer trends, I’m always growing my education on all spirits—and non-alcoholic spirits—because it’s important to never stop learning.
How do you generally approach using amaro in cocktails?
Phelps: I love using amari like See the Elephant, Nonino, or Montenegro as a sweetener, and for aromatics when they are more on the bitter side.
Do you find that most of your guests are quite familiar with the amaro category these days? If not, how do you help demystify their approach to appreciating amaro?
Phelps: Where we are located in Charleston we don’t see many guests well-educated on amaro, but my bar team loves amari so it makes it easy to guide guests through their first amaro experience. We do a lot of staff education on amaro at Frannie as well since we have an extensive amari selection.
Do you have any bartender pro tips when it comes to amaro?
Phelps: Keep them up front so your guests can ask about them!
What sets See the Elephant Amaro apart from other amari bottles on the backbar and how do you approach using it?
Phelps: The label, first and foremost—it really stands out. It’s like looking at the fun candy wallpaper in Willy Wonka. Before approaching a new cocktail concept, I always taste spirits alone, side by side, and then together to see how the complement each other.
What was the inspiration for your Aereo Elefante cocktail, and what does See the Elephant Amaro bring to the drink?
Phelps: The Paper Plane was my inspiration for the Aereo Elefante. See The Elephant really brings out the grapefruit from the pamplemousse and the bubblegum notes shine without being overly sweet. The basil adds herbaceous notes and complements the arugula in the amaro.
Any tips for people making the Aereo Elefante at home?
Phelps: Always chill your glass and always use fresh juice. You’ll thank me later!
Recipe: Aereo Elefante
Amanda Phelps, Frannie & The Fox | Charleston, South Carolina
3/4 ounce See the Elephant Amaro di Rucola
3/4 ounce bourbon
3/4 ounce Giffard Pamplemousse Liqueur
3/4 ounce lemon juice
8 fresh basil leaves
Garnish: fresh basil leaf
Combine the See the Elephant Amaro di Rucola, bourbon, pamplemousse liqueur, and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker. Tear each of the 8 pieces of basil in half and add to the shaker. Fill with ice and shake hard for 15-20 seconds to incorporate the basil into the cocktail. Double strain into a chilled Nick and Nora glass. Garnish with a fresh basil leaf.
As See the Elephant Amaro di Rucola continues to expand their distribution, you can find it at select bottle shops, bars, and restaurants in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama,
You can also order a bottle online. Shipping is available to 46 states through the See the Elephant website.
Dive Bar Jukebox
Welcome to Dive Bar Jukebox, where bartenders, writers, chefs, musicians, and a cast of cool characters answer the question: If we were hanging out together at a bar and I put ten credits on the jukebox, what songs would you punch in and why? Their responses reveal thoughts on their favorite dive bars along with a hand-picked, annotated playlist for your weekend listening pleasure.
Please join me in welcoming today’s very special guest…
Emmett Burke
Take it from me, Emmett Burke is a great guy. I always love running into him at one of the two popular New York city restaurants he founded and owns, Emmett’s and Emmett’s on Grove. He’s affable, approachable, down to earth, and passionate about a number of pursuits—whether it’s collecting 1980s movies on VHS, the finer points of deep-dish and thin-crust Chicago-style pizza, frequenting dive bars, or reciting lyrics from the songs by his favorite ‘80s bands (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, The Tubes, and A Flock of Seagulls, to name a few).
The Chicago-born entrepreneur opened his namesake tavern in 2013 just south of Houston on MacDougal Street, specializing in deep-dish pizza, an overlooked regional style in a city with a pizzeria on every corner. “Yeah, that’s my baby. It’s my first. It’s like a band’s debut album,” says Burke. Specialized pies include the Magnum P Eye with ham and pineapple and the Gabe Froman, with half-pepperoni, half-sausage, and spinach. You’ll find other Chicago foodways classics like Italian Beef and a Chicago-Style Hot Dog, but the thin-crust tavern-style pies (the type of pizza most Chicagoans favor) cut into small squares like a cheesy jigsaw puzzle have proven to be the the runaway hit.
It’s all thin-crust pizza at Emmett’s on Grove, the popular supper club-style restaurant in the West Village that also has a full-service bar—the $9 Happy Hour & a Half Martinis and a sidecar of Pigs in a Blanket is one of the best deals in town. The roster of thin-crust pies there include the bestselling Hot Papi (pepperoni, jalapeño, red onion, ranch) and the Pegg O’ (grana padano, Parmesan, pecorino Romano, fresh basil) along with mains like Baby Back Ribs, Chicken Parmesan, and Shrimp Scampi. The place is always packed—there’s an electric buzz of the crowded bar, Emmett’s curated playlists are coming from the speakers, and everyone is having a great time.
Last November I had the chance to interview Emmett for LAST CALL on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the original Emmett’s and we covered a lot of topics, including the philosophy of taking the unexpected left turns in life and the story of how he got Bill Murray to guest-bartender at the opening night of Emmett’s on Grove (It turns out Murray dated Emmett’s mother when they were in high school together and surprised her by stopping by her son’s bar to help celebrate and pour some beers).
This is one of my favorite quotes from that interview:
“Pizza is the ultimate equalizer. Everyone likes pizza. And the cool thing about that is pizza brings everyone together, right? We get celebs in here from the neighborhood and people who come in from all over and they want to eat our pizza because it’s good.
But it’s also accessible for anyone who just wants to have a good time. That’s been the super-fun thing for me—that people also appreciate us for a well-made Martini, a nice bottle of wine, or a piece of art on the wall.
I hate to use the word elevated because everyone does that. Like an “elevated” dive bar? Fuck that. But everything we do we try to have an intention behind it. But there’s no airs to anything we do because, hey, I grew up delivering pizzas. And that’s still what I kind of do for a living.”
—Emmett Burke
Read on as Emmett philosophizes on the bar in the movie The Wrestler, what makes a dive bar a dive bar, his love of jukeboxes at bars, and an eclectic playlist that seamlessly cuts between Buddy Holly and Tom Petty to The Velvet Underground and The Cars.