Page 110 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL WINTER 2024 SCOTLAND

Soderbergh was so convinced that Sin‐ which has drawn comparisons to gin, rum,
gani was unlike any other alcohol that he
approached a brain specialist at NYU. “I
wanted to do a thing where we got people
drunk on all the other base spirits, and
then did MRIs on them, to see what parts of
their brain were lighting up.”
While he never followed through with
that experiment, Soderbergh seems
doggedly committed to “lighting up” brains,
by one means or another. On this night, he
presides over a long table laden with bot‐
tles of Singani 63 and a range of classic
cocktails wherein Singani 63 has been sub‐
stituted for the usual suspects.
It’s an effective demonstration of the
versatility of this grape-based libation,
Steven Soderbergh gets hands on
with the grapes in Bolivia. Courtesy
Singani 63.
110 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE WINTER 2025
and even tequila. Just don’t use the “b”-
word…brandy. Because, although that’s
technically what Singani 63 is, its flavour-
fluid, chameleon-like qualities are worlds—
and generations—away from your grand‐
dad’s snifter of brown ambrosia and the
images of wood-panelled drawing rooms
and silk cravats brandy conjures for many
Millennials. So far away, in fact, that
Soderbergh made a video about it (Brandy
VS Singani 63, available on YouTube), show‐
ing young folks blind-tasting Singani 63
IRL. Because of course he did. He’s Steven
Soderbergh.
The chief obstacle to overcome when
reaching out to younger audiences is that