Bruto Americano

An Italian-style aperitif with a California twist.

Complex layers of flavor unfold, ending with a bitter swagger."

— NEW YORK TIMES

Bruto Americano is a love letter to the bitter Italian liqueurs of old. Produced by St. George Spirits, in Alameda, California, Bruto aimed to be a bartender and consumer favorite, and hit the nail on the head. With its elegant design and musty, bittersweet flavor, it has become a common, if not must have, bottle in the world's most prestigious cocktail bars.

Our initial idea was to pursue a design heavily influenced by the ideas of Italian Futurism. As we progressed, however, we were inspired by the elegance of the bottle and the spirit itself, and refined the design to be more typography focussed with a supporting laser cut botanical illustration. This laser cut element pulls from the California coffee berry bush, used in the production of Bruto, as well as from the Cochineal beetle, used to give the spirit its red coloring (yup, beetle juice).

The final design is a modern take on a classic style, meant to compliment the spirit in more ways than one.