Ingredients
The hero botanical is rucola — arugula — grown within roughly 30km of the distillery on the Cilento coast, where it thrives nearly year-round. Macerated in grain neutral spirit for two to three weeks, arugula gives up flavors nobody expects from a salad green: ripe banana, bubblegum, cola and a dark-chocolate bitterness, with the peppery bite arriving late. Caramel is added for color and body; the remaining herbs and spices are a closely held family secret.
- ✦Arugula (rucola)
- ✦Caramel
- ✦Undisclosed family herbs and spices
History of the Brand
Agropoli sits on the Cilento coast south of Salerno, near the Greek temples at Paestum and inside Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site often described as the birthplace of the Mediterranean diet. Arugula grows in Campania almost all year — so Fattorie Cilentane, the local family that has been making this amaro for more than 65 years, built their recipe around what grew outside the door rather than around imported roots and barks, sourcing at what they call zero kilometers.
Amaro di rucola is not a new invention. It is a small but real Campanian style — Ischia's Rucolino is the best-known example, and Fattorie Cilentane makes its own Amaro di Rucola for the domestic market. What is rare is seeing it outside Italy.
That changed in 2022, when the family partnered on a U.S.-facing brand and launched See the Elephant under a name borrowed from 19th-century America. To "see the elephant" meant to go out and witness something extraordinary for yourself — a phrase from the era when the first elephants were exhibited in New York, later carried west along the Gold Rush and Oregon trails.
Artist Cody Gunningham designed the label, whose crowded, color-saturated illustration deliberately breaks with the crest-and-serif conventions of Italian amaro. In February 2023 Brad Thomas Parsons named it among Punch's Ten Essential New-School Amari, and it has since collected competition scores in the mid-90s.
Tasting Characteristics
Bubblegum and ripe banana first, then vanilla, orange peel, allspice and a cool thread of mint.
Full and semi-viscous. Root beer and bitter cola over a caramel base, with the peppery green snap of arugula cutting through the middle.
Long, lightly woody, dark chocolate bitterness arriving only at the very end.
Flavor meter
How to serve it
- 01Neat in a small glass after dinner — this is where the bubblegum-to-cocoa arc is most obvious.
- 02Over a single large cube with an orange twist; the ice tightens the sweetness considerably.
- 03Stirred with rye in place of sweet vermouth for a dessert-leaning Black Manhattan — the house recommendation.
- 04Shaken with lime and mezcal, where the peppery arugula plays against the smoke.
- 05Long over soda with lemon as a low-proof afternoon pour.
Where to Get It
Imported by HTH Imports and distributed across 28 states as of August 2026. Pennsylvania was the first state to take it on, with a 99-store placement through Fine Wine & Good Spirits; Ohio, Kentucky, Louisiana and California followed. Massanois handles New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, where the bar and bottle-shop presence is deepest. Suggested retail is $44.99, though New York shops sometimes ask more.
Specialty shops
Independent bottle shops in the New York metro area and Pennsylvania state stores are the most reliable places to find it on a shelf.
Online retailers
National spirits sites ship to most states; check the brand site for a current stockist list.
Cocktail bars
Increasingly a back-bar pick at amaro-minded bars looking for something outside the Averna–Montenegro axis.
Where to buy See the Elephant
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See the Elephant FAQ
What is amaro di rucola?
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Amaro di rucola is a small southern Italian style built on arugula (rucola) rather than the gentian, wormwood and rhubarb roots that anchor most amari. It is a genuine regional tradition in Campania and on Ischia — Rucolino is the best-known domestic example — but it is rarely exported. Macerated in spirit, arugula gives sweet tropical and confectionery flavors — banana, bubblegum, cola — with its peppery bite arriving late.
Does See the Elephant taste like arugula?
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Not in the way a salad does. The peppery green character is there, but it sits behind bubblegum, banana, vanilla and caramel, with a dark-chocolate bitterness on the finish.
Is See the Elephant a sweet or bitter amaro?
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Decidedly on the sweet side. At 30% ABV it is fuller and sweeter than Fernet or Cynar, closer in weight to Averna but far more confectionery in flavor — a good gateway bottle for someone who finds classic amari too austere.
Where is See the Elephant Amaro made?
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In Agropoli, a coastal town near Salerno on the Cilento coast of Campania, by Fattorie Cilentane, a third-generation family producer that has made the recipe for more than 65 years using ingredients sourced within about 30km.
What can I substitute for See the Elephant?
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Nothing matches it exactly. Amaro Montenegro comes closest for sweetness and orange-vanilla lift; Averna covers the caramel weight; neither delivers the peppery arugula note.