The silver mines of Potosí in the Bolivian Andes and the silver screens of Hollywood have an unlikely through line: singani, a brandy made from Muscat of Alexandra grapes.
Distilled since the 16th century, the high-altitude eau de vie, considered Bolivia’s national spirit, is gaining traction in the American market. Just last year, the U.S. government recognized singani as a distinctive product of Bolivia, perhaps opening the door for the spirit to become as sought-after stateside as Mexican tequila, Peruvian pisco or Brazilian cachaça. Now the crystal-clear spirit of the Andes is on the cusp of broader recognition as it shows up on cocktail menus from coast to coast. Below, we get to know the aromatic, floral spirit.
What Is Singani?
Singani is a type of brandy, which is a style of liquor produced by distilling wine. By Bolivian law, singani must be made in one of the officially recognized zones of production and can only be produced with Muscat of Alexandria grapes grown at elevations of 5,250 feet or higher.
Its history can be traced to the days of the Bolivian silver rush in the mid-1500s. When Spanish conquistadors began extracting silver in vast quantities from Cerro Rico, a mountain in southwestern Bolivia, the mining city of Potosí was born. The Spanish had established vineyards 100 miles south in the Sedona-like landscape of the Valley of Cinti, but the grueling labor of silver mining called for something stronger than wine. Distillation began at a nearby vineyard called San Pedro Mártir, which has been producing singani ever since. (You can find it today under the label Singani San Pedro.)
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Since then, singani has remained a beloved local spirit. Only relatively recently has it become thought of as an export, and in 1988, the Bolivian government declared it to be a native product of the country and codified rules about how it should be produced.
Despite its pedigree, singani hasn’t quite taken off internationally. But that’s changing as high-profile cocktail aficionados become acquainted with the spirit. After learning about singani back in 2007 while filming Che, a biopic on Che Guevara, the director Steven Soderbergh became a dedicated fan and started selling his own. In 2014, he launched his brand Singani 63, and has been an evangelist for the spirit, lobbying the U.S. government to recognize it (he was instrumental in the recent designation) and commercializing the spirit.
How Is Singani Made?
Singani is produced in a manner similar to pisco. Traditionally, fermented juice from the Muscat of Alexandria grapes is distilled in a traditional still called a falca. While artisanal makers still use antique equipment, most contemporary distillers have modern copper equipment. Different bodegas, or distilleries, craft singani in their own styles.
Ronald Quinteros, a Bolivian sommelier who runs the Instagram page @Vinosdealtura.bol, explains that “there are singanis of one distillation, of two distillations and of three distillations.” With each distillation, prices increase, but Quinteros insists that a double distillation might maintain more aromas than a triple.
One thing all distillers agree upon, however, is that the local Muscat de Alexandra grapes are essential to singani. While other South American countries produce grape spirits—like Peru does with pisco or Argentina does with its Fernet amaro—Bolivia is the only country that exclusively relies on a single varietal for distillation. Thanks to this grape, singani has a strong and bright acidity complemented by a subtle and floral sweetness.
“The important thing is that the Muscat of Alexandria grape exists in Chile, exists in Argentina, exists in the very Spain whence came these very shoots—but this grape has been acclimatized to [5,250 feet] above sea level for nearly five centuries,” says Lorgio Rivera, a retired Bolivian senator and part-owner of the storied San Pedro distillery. The operation has produced singani for nearly 500 years, making it one of the oldest viticultural and distillation sites in the Americas.
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Legally speaking, singani can only be produced in specific regions of Bolivia, which include the valleys of Tarija, La Paz, Chuqisaca and Cinti. In these locations, temperatures fluctuate drastically between night and day, which helps produce a freshness in the wines and a bracing acidity. Meanwhile pests generally can’t survive in such a harsh environment, meaning that less fumigation is needed. While the Valley of Cinti fell out of favor with singani distillers in the mid 1900s, as most moved to the Valley of Tarija, the region still has a cluster of over 50 boutique producers.
The brand Casa Real, which produces Soderbergh’s label and 80% of domestic bottles, has produced singani in the Valley of Tarija since the mid 1900s. “The only reason we can make wine in Bolivia is due to altitude,” says Nicolas Granier, Casa Real’s commercial director. “It has great implications—higher exposure to U.V. makes the grapes develop a thicker skin. A large part of the aromatic components are in the skin of the grape. So, with a thicker skin, there are more terpenes. That’s why the Muscat of Alexandria in Bolivia has this explosion of aroma.”
The brand uses a distillation method similar to Cognac that has remained virtually unchanged since the company’s founder, Luis Granier Ballivian, opened his business in 1976. It’s still a family-run operation. “One hundred years ago, my great grandfather studied in France and always held the production of Cognac as a role model,” recalls Granier. “He tried to innovate the distillation and adapt the method of cognac in Bolivia, with Cognac pot stills and double distillation.”
How to Drink Singani
Though Granier divulged that Soderbergh takes his singani on the rocks, Bolivians rarely drink their beloved spirit straight today. It’s usually mixed into cocktails, especially the chuflay, a mix of singani, ginger ale and citrus reminiscent of the Peruvian chilcano.
“When Bolivian people think of singani, they directly think of the chuflay—not the crystalline spirits in the bottle,” says Quinteros. It’s a fairly simple and straightforward libation, which is intentional. “We want to educate the American consumer, who might not have the skills of an experienced bartender, to make cocktails in a simple manner—more like how we drink it in Bolivia,” says Granier.
But on the American mixology scene, simplicity isn’t always a given. In fact, singani is increasingly becoming known as a versatile clear base spirit for a wide range of creative cocktails.
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Boston’s Wig Shop speakeasy has the Channing Tay-Yum, combining singani with lime, pistachio orgeat, blackberry and black pepper. Chicago’s critically acclaimed Meadowlark mixes Singani 63 with Dolin Génépy, Carpano Botanic bitters and both melon and anise liqueurs to produce the Ferris Wheel. In Denver, the Death & Co outpost uses the spirit in their Death of Disco alongside Lalo Tequila, Génépy, plum, lemon and seltzer. Singani features especially prominently at Washington, D.C. pop-up Casa Kantuta, the nation’s first-ever Bolivian cocktail bar. Nearly all of the drinks here feature the spirit, from the Singani Api Sour (Singani 63, lemon juice, demerara syrup, egg whites and a puffed maiz garnish) to the Tall & Dirty (Singani 63, vodka, Dolin Blanc, Sherry, olive brine and elderflower tonic water).
Granier speaks optimistically about what sinani’s rise portends. “We hope for other Bolivian brands to export as well,” he says. “The market is so big and our category is so small. We applaud each new exportation project.”
For Bolivians, the legal recognition of singani in the States has been a watershed moment. “This recent news of how the U.S. has rightfully accepted singani as a product of origin has welled up the national pride for our spirit,” Quinteros says.
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Published: May 1, 2024
