In the spirit of the holiday season, and thanks to the generous underwriting from our sponsors, December dispatches are free to all subscribers and readers.
But I hope you’ll consider helping support my independent writing and this publication by upgrading to a paid subscription or sharing a Gift Subscription with a family member, friend, or colleague (you can even select the date and time the recipient receives the good news).
This is a super-sized dispatch and will likely be truncated in your email, so be sure to click the “View Entire Message” link to expand.
And tune in this Friday for A Very Special Holiday Dive Bar Jukebox—our last dispatch before Christmas break.
The LAST CALL Holiday Special 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 regional herbs and botanicals—including the signature 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, Italian-born “gateway” amaro for those just starting to explore the amari category—flavorful, sweet, bold, and complex, with just a touch of bitterness. Enjoy it neat or over ice, or in creative cocktail applications like the Caffè Cappelletti, a perfect-for-the-holiday-season creation from bartender Isaiah Kimball that shakes up See the Elephant Amaro with tequila, Italian liqueurs, and a salted honey syrup for a rich and spirited winter sipper.
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, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
You can also order a bottle online. Shipping is available to 46 states through the See the Elephant website—use promo code “LASTCALL” for Free Ground Shipping on any order through Sunday, December 31, 2023.
Caffè Cappelletti
Isaiah Kimball, LUCA | Lancaster, Pennsylvania
1-1/2 ounces Reposado Tequila
3/4 ounce See the Elephant Amaro
3/4 ounce Caffè Borghetti
1/2 ounce Cappelletti Amaro Sfumato Rabarbaro
1/2 ounce Salted Honey Syrup (1:2, water: honey and a pinch of kosher salt)
Garnish: salted orange wedge
Combine all the ingredients in a shaker and fill with ice. Shake vigorously until well chilled, about 15-20 seconds. Strain out the ice and then dry shake without ice for another 15 seconds to achieve a dreamy, cloud-like texture. Pour into a small glass tumbler and serve on a saucer or small plate. Garnish with an orange wedge with a generous sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
Welcome to the 2023 LAST CALL Holiday Special
There’s a reason why the LAST CALL Holiday Special always falls on December 20th (well twice now, since this is our second Christmas here together). Today is the day where, for the past 12 years, I share my “Happy Holidays from BTP and Martha” card to commemorate when I appeared on “The Cocktail Party Show” episode of The Martha Stewart Show on Tuesday, December 20, 2011.
From TV Guide
Episode 59: “The Cocktail Party Show”
Tue, Dec 20, 2011 60 mins
Setting up a bar for a holiday party with event planner Bronson Van Wyck; cocktail recipes with "Bitters" author Brad Thomas Parsons; a mixed-nut blend with rosemary and brown butter.
My first book, Bitters, was published on November 1, 2011. I was living in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, and at that time working in publishing in the Big City. A publishing colleague I know, whose wife was a producer on Martha Stewart, suggested I get him a galley of Bitters to pass along to his wife. I was grateful to have a semi-direct connection like that but had given up hope as we moved into the holiday season when most media takes a break.
My book publicist, Anna Mintz Tarver, had followed up with the Martha Stewart people but it remained wait-and-see until she called me on Thursday, December 15, to let me know we had a confirmed date for my appearance the following Tuesday. I was informed that Martha was taking a copy of Bitters home with her to personally select the two cocktails she’d like me to make live on the air.
She picked the Cranberry Crush (a shaken holiday drink with gin, Amaro Ramazzotti, cranberries, and lime) and the Red Carpet Reviver (a low-ABV highball I had made for a friend’s Oscar party), both original creations from me, which was kind of cool. There was a pre-interview phone Q&A with a producer and then a flurry of emails with two different producers going through the punch-list of what ingredients and equipment and glassware would be needed for my appearance.
Anna was already back home in Atlanta for the holidays so that Tuesday morning I took the C train from Clinton Hill, schlepping a big tote bag filled with assorted bottles of bitters and homemade syrups and barware to their Chelsea studio for my 8:00 a.m. call time. The other guests were in their dressing rooms with multiple handlers with their on-air outfits hanging in garment bags while I showed up “camera ready.” One of the producers poked her head in to say hello and seemed surprised that I was all alone. “You don’t have anyone with you?” she asked, seeming a bit concerned.