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It was 2007. Steven Soderbergh was starting to shoot “Che” in Spain when the Bolivian casting director Rodrigo Bellott came armed with a bottle of Singani, the country’s national spirit, to the production kickoff party.
At that moment, the “Ocean’s Eleven” director probably didn’t realize he was about to embark on a 16-year odyssey to introduce the traditional liquor to the rest of the world. “I had one sip and started grilling him,” Soderbergh, normally a vodka drinker, recalls of his first taste. “It had a unique bouquet and was very active on the palate with no burn.” The bottle happened to be from Casa Real, a 98-year old distillery with four generations of experience making the country’s favorite tipple. “If it hadn’t have been from Casa Real, I probably wouldn’t have done it,” says Soderbergh.
Soderbergh, who lives part time in Los Angeles, told the story of how he came to launch Singani 63 at a recent dinner at Tesse on the Sunset Strip, featuring a Bolivian-accented tasting menu and cocktail pairings from top L.A.
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