Ingredients
A red bitter aperitivo in the Campari mould, but rooted in Californian plants: Seville orange peel and gentian braced by yerba santa, California bay laurel and Douglas fir, with natural cochineal colour rather than dye.
- ✦Seville orange peel
- ✦Gentian root
- ✦Yerba santa
- ✦California bay laurel
- ✦Douglas fir
- ✦Angelica root
- ✦Cascara sagrada
- ✦Balsam fir
History of the Brand
St. George Spirits has been making idiosyncratic American spirits in a hangar on the old Alameda Naval Air Station since 1982, long before craft distilling was a category.
Bruto Americano arrived in 2016 as the distillery's answer to the Italian red bitter — not a Campari clone, but a bitter aperitivo written in Californian botanicals.
The colour comes from cochineal, the same insect-derived dye Campari itself used for most of its history before switching to artificial colouring.
Tasting Characteristics
Bitter orange, pine resin and dusty herbs
Grapefruit pith and gentian over woody yerba santa, barely sweet
Long, dry, faintly medicinal
Flavor meter
How to serve it
- 01In a Negroni in place of Campari
- 02With soda and an orange slice
- 03Half-and-half with sweet vermouth on ice
Where to Get It
Widely available across the US; limited export
US bottle shops
Stocked by most craft-spirits retailers
Online
Ships to many states from national spirits retailers
Where to buy St. George Bruto Americano
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St. George Bruto Americano FAQ
Is Bruto Americano a good Campari substitute?
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Yes — it works one-for-one in a Negroni, though it is drier, earthier and more resinous than Campari.
What gives Bruto Americano its red colour?
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Natural cochineal, the insect-derived dye historically used in Italian red bitters, rather than artificial colouring.