Where should I eat in La Paz, and which local food or drink is worth trying?

The rule is unusually informative about the drink itself. Published as T.D. TTB-187 at 88 FR 2224–2228 on 13 January 2023 under Docket No. TTB-2021-0008, it defines singani as brandy derived from grapes and manufactured in Bolivia under Bolivian law for consumption in that country, in delimited zones of origin located exclusively in Bolivia. The Bolivian standard it relies on, NB 324001, requires the base wine to come from Vitis vinifera grapes, with certain singani categories required to use Muscat of Alexandria specifically, and requires the grapes to be grown at a minimum of 1,600 meters (5,250 ft) above sea level. The traditional zones of origin sit at or above that elevation too.

Strength is where the Bolivian and American rules diverge, which is worth knowing if you buy a bottle to take home. Bolivia permits 35 to 45 percent alcohol by volume, or 70 to 90 proof. The US rule is narrower for labelling purposes: only singani bottled at 40 percent ABV, 80 proof, or higher may be labelled as singani in the United States, and anything below that must be labelled "Diluted" singani or sold as a specialty product with a statement of composition and a fanciful name.

What singani tells you about eating in La Paz is that altitude is the organizing principle of the local larder as well as the local spirit. The city sits at about 3,650 m (12,000 ft) by the CDC's figure — more than twice the minimum elevation of a singani vineyard — and nothing that needs lowland warmth grows anywhere near it. The valleys that supply the city are the ones that produce the grapes.

The 2023 recognition was reciprocal in substance if not in text: it followed a joint petition submitted in 2018, and the Bolivian decrees and regulations supplied with that petition are what the US rule now points to. The practical consequence for a visitor is that the word on a Bolivian label has a defined meaning backed by NB 324001 — a named grape family, named categories, a minimum growing elevation and a strength range — rather than being a generic term for local brandy. Asking which category a singani belongs to is a real question with a real answer.

• With a meal — Singani is brandy at 35 to 45 percent ABV under Bolivian rules; it is not a session drink at 3,650 m (12,000 ft).
• Ask about the grape — Some categories under NB 324001 must use Muscat of Alexandria; others need only Vitis vinifera.
• Check the strength on a bottle to bring home — Below 40 percent ABV it cannot be labelled simply as singani in the United States.

Spirits and thin air are a poor first-night combination, and the comparison that makes it vivid is a familiar one: the CDC reports that about 25 percent of visitors sleeping above 2,450 m (8,000 ft) in Colorado develop acute mountain sickness, and La Paz stands more than a kilometer higher again. On food and water, the CDC's traveler guidance is specific about the small habits — do not use tap water for brushing teeth or get it in your mouth unless you are reasonably sure it is safe, never use it for sinus or nasal rinses, and treat sealed cans and bottles of carbonated drinks, water and alcohol as generally safe while wiping and drying the outside before opening. The State Department's Bolivia page records that the risk of infection is high, which is reason enough to apply all of that rather than some of it.

The La Paz when-to-visit question in this group sets out Alasita from 24 January and the Gran Poder festival; the things-to-do question covers the Gran Poder district and the markets where Alasita's miniatures are sold.