31 Oct Please The Palate Pick of the Week: Singani 63 To-Go Cocktails

Enjoying cocktails in a bar has not been part of the “new normal” of 2020. But, as restaurants increased their take-out services, bartenders got creative with cocktails to-go. Around the country, bartenders crafted cocktails, packaged them and sold them out of the doors of their bars and restaurants so that consumers could enjoy them in the comfort of their own home. This week, I headed to Big Bar in Los Feliz for an outdoor, socially distanced event where we enjoyed five Singani 63 cockatils to go from bars around the country. The diversity of the recipes, the tastiness of the cocktails, and the creativity of the packaging make the Singani 63 Cocktails To-Go the Please The Palate pick of the week. Singani 63 is a smooth aromatic spirit with floral notes on the nose and a touch of spice on the palate. Made from the aromatic white grape Muscat of Alexandria sourced from the Bolivian Andes, Singani is a Bolivian brandy. Singani 63 is owned by director Steven Soderbergh. A 500-year old indigenous product, Singani, was one of Bolivia’s best-kept secrets until Soderbergh discovered it while making the movie Che in Bolivia. An unaged distilled spirit, the floral notes and smooth texture make Singani 63 an enjoyable spirit to sip or use as the base in a cocktail. It was exactly one year ago that I enjoyed a selection of cocktails made with Singani 63 at a hotel bar in Hollywood. But now that we cannot drink at bars, I enjoyed the opportunity to see what bartenders around the country have come up with. This was a bar crawl where the bars came to us! Bolivian Rose – Brian Smith, Baker’s, Seattle, Washington Made with Singani 63, Giffard triple sec, Noilly prat dry vermouth and Aperol, the cocktail has citrus aromatics. It is smooth and silky on the palate with a slightly bitter note on the finish. Out of Sight – Andrew and Briana Volk, Hunt & Alpine Club, Portland, Maine Made with Singani 63, lime, mint, and cucumber, Out of Sight is a play on one of my favorites, an East Side cocktail. The floral notes of the Singani are enhanced by the savory freshness of the cucumber. If you didn’t know any better, you might have mistaken this for a freshly pressed juice. Coconut Negroni – Rael Petit, Kokomo, New York City Made with Singani 63 infused with cocoa nibs, Campari infused with coconut, Antica vermouth, and an orange twist with a pinch of shredded coconut, I loved the individual- sized can. Inside the can, the cocktail is smooth with just a hint of coconut and a bitterness on the finish. Night Rider – Alex Jump, Death & Co, Denver, Colorado Made with Singani 63, Cognac, Rum, pineapple, black tea, clarified milk and spices, this cocktail is fresh and easy drinking. The tropical notes from the rum and the pineapple reminded me of a Pina Colada and the clarified milk gave the drink a light but creamy texture. Missy Crza – Garrett Hanson, Big Bar, Los Angeles  Made with Singani 63, PX Sherry, lemon, Malbec and Countreau, this Latin American inspired cocktail is a similar to a Sangria. I loved the tart finish of this drink. The beauty of these cocktails is that they were created to be enjoyed at the bar but they have the ease of being packaged to go. If you live in one of these cities, check out the bar and order a cocktail to-go. Or check out the bars in your neighborhood. Support your local bars and enjoy the cocktails to-go that bartenders have created for our enjoyment at home. And soon, Singani 63 will be shipped directly to consumers across the country so you can play around with cocktails in your home.