After 8 years and red tape, Steven Soderbergh had this Bolivian Brandy recognised by the US Government
It took eight years to get there, but it finally happened. Steven Soderbergh He has fulfilled his dream. No, we’re not referring to him assembling the cast for Ocean’s 18, we’re talking the official recognition of the Bolivian spirit called singani. But what exactly is singani? And why is Soderbergh so keen to learn more about it?
Singani is a brandy made from Muscat Alexandria grapes, in Bolivia. It is produced in Bolivia at a minimum of 5,250 feet. Soderbergh’s interest in the spirit dates back to when he first tried it while filming the movie Che In 2007. He founded the brand seven years later. Singani 63 It has been on a mission since then to be its own distinct category. “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,” he said in a statement. “The good news, however, is that each agency in the end acted to fulfill 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.”
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According to a representative Singani 63, Soderbergh’s involvement in bringing this to fruition has been much more than his celebrity backing. He worked with Casa Real—the distillery that makes the spirit—and the Bolivian government to highlight why singani is singluar. He helped to form a trade agreement in which Bolivia became 44th country to recognize, and he also assisted with some quid pro quo. bourbon Tennessee whiskey As distinctly American products in exchange for US recognition of the 500-year-old spirit. This was done in close collaboration with the Bolivian embassies. This is clearly a man who loves singani and wants his brand to be more prominent.
But Soderbergh couldn’t do this all on his own. Singani63 led a campaign of 13,000 signatures to a petition that was submitted the TTB. There are over 300,000 Bolivians in America. “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 US over the last nine years for the first time in our history,” said Casa Real CEO Luis Pablo Granier in a statement. “To now have our life’s work recognized on a global stage and recognized by the US government is a moment my great-grandfather couldn’t and wouldn’t have dreamed of.”
Don’t expect singani sales to start outpacing Cognac anytime soon, but this is certainly a win for the spirit overall, and of course for Soderbergh’s Singani 63. If you’d like to give it a try for yourself, you can order it from Wine.com now.
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