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If you’ve been hanging around bars in San Francisco long enough, drinking amaro inevitably becomes a part of your life at some point. My affinity for the bitter liqueur began with Fernet (what else?) and it sparked an interest in these Italian herbal spirits. But when I found a truly local amaro a few years ago, let alone an entire lineup of different ones centered on California herbs and botanicals, my love affair with Brucato Spirits began.
No sooner that I discovered the first three Brucato releases, did I start weaving them into my cocktails. The Woodlands (a dandy hat tip to Sicilian Averna) transformed my Black Manhattan recipe, while the potent Chaparral—a nod to Chartreuse that’s teeming with yerba santa, bay, and cardamom—transports me to the hilly roads beyond the Sonoma and Marin coastline.
After purchasing the old Double Rainbow ice cream factory building in the Mission on South Van Ness & 14th Street, Brucato opened its distillery and the adjoining Bar Brucato back in March of last year. And while the stellar bar and restaurant closed this past June, the distillery has kept releasing some of its most intriguing spirits to date. Owners James and Sierra Clark (who’ve been making Brucato amaro since 2018) hired Anchor Distilling and Hotaling & Co. vet Adam Hall as their new distillery manager this year and it’s already led to an infusion of some unbelievable spirits.
I was over the moon when I heard about the newly-released Crane Cove Rye, which began with barrels of straight malted rye that was distilled in 2017 at the old Anchor Distilling facility in Potrero Hill (in the Anchor Brewery building.) Hall engineered this exchange and while we continue to pine for all things Anchor, I love that the Crane Cove is made with Liberty Ale yeast. For fans of Anchor’s classic Old Potrero Rye (a foundational SF craft spirit, imo) it’s a huge treat. I mixed some with Brucato’s new Blenheim Apricot spirit (made with apricots from Los Altos) over ice, and splashed some soda water for a high-grade old fashioned. Only 450 bottles were made of the Crane Cove Rye so far and it feels really special.
There’s a lot to love about Brucato and all signs point to their output continuing to expand. The fourth amaro, Fields, just dropped and it’s delightfully crafted with fenugreek and artichoke leaf (think Cynar.) It’s this kind of whimsy that draws me to craft spirits. It’s present across the board at Brucato, from the Spring Almond liqueur to the Oro y Fierro kumquat liqueur (crushes as a topper on a Cadillac margarita!), the Mission Gin, and more.
Grab a bottle at your local shop and start experimenting, or you can book a tasting and/or tour at the distillery, every Friday at 3pm, to try every single one of their offerings. Cheers!
