The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (TTB) has officially recognized Bolivian singani as a unique type of brandy and a distinctive product of Bolivia. A grape distillate in the general class of brandy, singani will now be its own subcategory, distinct from other types of brandies, according to the rule posted Jan. 13, 2023.

Filmmaker Steven Soderbergh spearheaded a campaign for TTB recognition of the South American country’s national spirit as a unique and proprietary product of Bolivia. Soderbergh, who was introduced to singani by his Bolivian casting director in 2007 while shooting the film Che in Spain, launched Singani 63 in 2014 in partnership with distiller Casa Real. He worked closely with the Bolivian government during the past eight years to prove to the TTB that singani deserved its own classification.

Singani is distilled from the Muscat of Alexandria grapes grown in high altitudes of the Andes — conditions that create its bold, aromatic quality. 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 U.S.