Nobody knows the potentially life-change nature of film better than filmmaker Steven Soderbergh. Yet it wasn’t during a film but rather after the filming of Che in 2008, that Soderbergh’s own life would change dramatically.
Soderbergh was introduced to the grape-based drink by his Bolivian casting director, and from that moment, Soderbergh was obsessed with the flavour, aroma and very nature of Singani.
Since that time, in association with the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Soderbergh has worked tirelessly to get the South American spirit recognised as a grape distillate in the general class of Brandy.
“In 2014, when I sat across the table from 17 people representing four different agencies (Treasury, ATF, TTB, FDA), I felt like an ant at the bottom of the Matterhorn,” recalls Soderbergh.
“The good news, however, is that each agency, in the end, acted to fulfil their mandate of informing the public about what they’re drinking when they drink Singani. This recognition is certainly a high point in the long history of Bolivia’s unique spirit.”
In exchange for U.S. recognition of Singani as a distinctive product of Bolivia, Bolivia will become the 44th country to legally recognize Bourbon Whiskey and Tennessee Whiskey as distinctive products of the United States, encouraging international trade and offering a potential economic boost to these American-made products.
Though Soderbergh began his venture with a simple personal desire to stock his own bar, when he learned that Singani had seldom been out of landlocked Bolivia, he resolved to use his platform to share the spirit with the wider world. In partnership with the nearly century-old Casa Real (Bolivia’s leading Singani producer), he developed Singani 63, the international expression of their Casa Real Black Label, which is now available across the U.S. and the U.K.
Casa Real CEO Luis Pablo Granier explains, “Our family has been producing Singani for nearly 100 years, and it has been an absolute joy to see our product on bar shelves across the U.S. over the last nine years for the first time in our history.
“To now have our life’s work recognized on a global stage and recognized by the U.S. Government is a moment my great-grandfather couldn’t and wouldn’t have dreamed of,” continued Granier.
Singani’s 500-year history follows the journey of a single grape variety, the Muscat of Alexandria, carried by Spanish missionaries from Egypt to Spain and then on to the Bolivian Andes, where it is grown at high altitude. By Bolivian legal decree, Singani’s “Domain of Origin” limits the growth and distillation of the spirit to minimum altitudes of 5,250 feet and specific regions of the country.
These conditions create the bold, aromatic quality that helped the TTB establish that Singani is indeed unique among spirits in the Brandy category.
For Bolivian Americans, this moment not only honours their heritage in the fabric of American culture but also raises Singani’s profile (and that of Bolivia) on the global stage.
To respect the origins of Singani and its people, Soderbergh and his team worked with diplomatic representatives of both nations, fueled by their belief in the cultural and financial importance of the project. But for the campaign to succeed, they also needed the support of the more than 300,000 Bolivians living in the U.S.
Ultimately, Singani 63 was able to secure 13,000 signatures through the brand’s “Recognize Singani” petition, later submitted to the TTB.
In August 2021, the U.S. government posted a proposed ruling, and today, this proposed ruling has at last been finalized.
Singani 63, now officially a distinct product of Bolivia, is available in select retail stores, bars and restaurants across the U.S. and for delivery nationwide via BuySingani63.com.
