The pop-up is going semi-permanent at sPACEYcLOUD come December.
has bar-hopped around the city since the Bolivian cocktail concept first popped up in Adams Morgan for a month in 2021. Now, the traveling lounge—which drew Bolivian expats and diplomats looking for a rare taste of home—is landing for at least a year.
Co-founders and siblings Carla and Juan Sanchez, along with bartender Luis B. Aliaga, will sling singani cocktails and salteñas in a semi-permanent space on 18th Street starting in late December., an Eastern European vegan bar and skate shop where Casa Kantuta began. The Sanchez siblings and Aliaga—all natives of La Paz, Bolivia—are busy transforming the space with traditional masks and textiles, plus a larger bar.
“It’s labeled as a brandy in the US, but it’s more delicate and floral, like another type of gin or organic vodka,” Aliaga says. Plans are still in the works for collaborations with food vendors. Casa Kantuta will continue to host markets—likely monthly—with local artists, designers, and small business owners. One thing the team knows for sure: they want to ring in the New Year with a Bolivian blowout that’ll double as a grand opening.