Bachelor Nation’s Joe Amabile on Life With Serena Pitt and Why Captain Morgan Is Perfect for Summer (Exclusive)

Bachelor Nation members who are obsessed with Joe Amabile, a.k.a. “Grocery Store Joe,” have a new cocktail they can enjoy that he customized. Amabile recently partnered with Captain Morgan for their limited-edition Cherry Vanilla Rum. The libation, which he coined “I Gotta Crush,” is perfect for the summer. And he’s been drinking a lot of it since moving to New York with Serena Pitt and planning the cocktail menu for their projected 2023 wedding. PopCulture.com spoke with Amabile on his life with Pitts in the big apple, wedding planning, his upcoming projects, and why Captain Morgan was the perfect brand partnership for him. 

PC: Congratulations to both you and Serena for recently celebrating the one-year anniversary of your engagement. What have you learned in the past year?

JA: So much. So much about her. Honestly, though, it has been…and this is going to be a boring answer – but it’s been just such an easy year. Just together just feeling right. And the transition for us has always been really smooth. It’s been lovely, to be honest.

I’ve been hearing the older that you get, the more that you realize that relationships shouldn’t be hard. There will be difficult times, but overall it shouldn’t be hard, so I’m glad to know it’s going well for you. How is wedding planning coming along? I know that planning a wedding post-pandemic can be probably more stressful than trying to plan one in a pandemic because, I’m assuming, since the world has opened back up, a lot of venues are available for booking and the prices are probably astronomical. So how’s it going?

Well, so, as of right now, we are planning on getting married toward the end of next year, so I would say planning will probably start within the next few months. I’m going to let Serena handle it, and when she needs my help, I will help.

OK, so you don’t care about colors? The only thing you want to do is be told what color to wear and show up?

You know, here’s the thing. I care about colors and I do care a lot about all those things, but it doesn’t matter what I like because it’s not for me. It’s her wedding. I do want a black and white tuxedo. That’s something I stand firm on. But she also likes that look.

So what is the one thing that you have to have? Being known as “Grocery Store Joe,” I’m assuming the food is your expertise.

Well, we definitely got to have Captain Morgan Cherry Vanilla Rum. That’s got to be at the wedding, for sure. I know it’s a limited edition, but I have some bottles saved just for the wedding. We’ve got to have really good food, and then just friends and family. That’s it. Simple.

And you recently moved in together in New York City, so how is it going? And you being from Chicago, what similarities are you finding between both cities and what differences? Because I know sometimes New York can just be a lot for people.

Being from Chicago and growing up in Chicago, I’ve always been just – (a) city just feels home to me, so it really hasn’t been that big of a transition. I love New York; I love all the restaurants; I love how busy it is. So for me, it just feels like I’m at home. It’s been an easy transition. I would say for her, as well. Toronto’s also a pretty big, bustling city.

And you mentioned that you have a lot of bottles of Captain Morgan Vanilla Rum saved for your wedding. So how did this partnership come about? Were you a Captain Morgan fan? Were you approached or was it one of those things where you were always online sharing your love for the brand and they picked up on it and were like, “Well, let’s bring him on.”

I’ve always been a fan of Captain Morgan, especially going to Cubs games in Chicago in the summer, Captain Morgan and Coke was always my drink. Then, they had this Cherry Vanilla, which I love. They actually had reached out to me and it was really just a perfect fit. And, when I do partnerships, I like to believe in the brand and use it, so I was like, “Yeah, this is easy.”

And you created your own custom cocktail that you coined “I’ve Got a Crush.” What was the inspiration behind it and tell us a little bit about the mixture that went into it? How many different variations of ingredients did you try before you were like, “This is the one.”

For me, and it’s the same with food, I like to keep all my recipes simple. This is just a perfect summer drink. It’s crushed ice, cola, some lime, and Captain Morgan Cherry Vanilla. I put a little mint on top and that’s it. And it’s refreshing, it tastes good, and I think it’s just perfect for the summer.

It is the summer and we recently celebrated Fourth of July. So is it perfect for a barbecue? What would you say is the perfect pairing with this specific cocktail? What type of food or hors d’oeuvres?

Oh, that’s a great, great question. If you’re barbecuing some hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, ribs – I think it goes great for that backyard barbecue food. And also, if you’re just sitting at a bar, sitting on a patio and having some appetizers and a few drinks.

It’s just overall good?

Be sure you’re 21, OK? Just make sure you’re 21.

What other projects are you working on? And, if you could talk a little bit about what else this partnership with Captain Morgan entails.

So the partnership with Captain Morgan has just been great. They’ve let me have creative freedom and I was able to create my own little videos and my own recipes. So that has just been so much fun. When a brand allows you to kind of do what you want, you can’t really beat it. And then for me, I have my own pasta sauce, Sundays with Joe, so I’m constantly working on that and my podcast, Click Bait. So I’m staying busy.