(Drinks International) Steven Soderbergh has dipped into the oceans of spirits and secured his favourite Bolivian drink its own classification.

It’s been eight years in the making but singani has finally received its own spirits designation in the US – and Oscar-winning film director Steven Soderbergh couldn’t be more ecstatic. Previously tucked away in the ‘brandy’ section by the Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB), the sought-after classification of Bolivia’s Muscat of Alexandria grape distillate means Soderbergh can now start writing the sequel of singani’s 500-year-old story.

The landmark classification came out of the blue, says Soderbergh, who exports his Singani 63 brand to the US and the UK. “The TTB publishes four times a year and, while we’d been told it might form part of this autumn’s announcement, it was a surprise. Then, the day before my birthday in January, my phone started blowing up. It was a wonderful gift to find that singani’s classification had been approved.”

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