Sip this Sông Cái Distillery spirit like it’s a dram of amaro.
Some people maneuver themselves into the world of spirit - making from positions in theservice industry . Or some stock their bar carts by take intake from theirfavorite celebrity . Others , like Daniel Nguyen , have taken a route much less traveled — or , in this case , a field of force .
There was a clip when Nguyen worked in agroforestry , databasing native crop and seeded player in places like Louisiana . “ When you work with farmers , ” excuse Nguyen , the founder ofSông Cái Distillery , “ a common thread … is that you feel that alcohol often lean to be the oddment answer of agriculture when you have enough bounty nimiety . ”
motivate by his desire to preserve indigenous industrial plant — rather than , say , merely document their death — Nguyen launched Sông Cái in 2018 in Hanoi , making it Vietnam ’s first dedicated gin manufacturer .
Spiced roselle gin|Photo courtesy of Sông Cái Distillery
Located nigher to the farmers and ingredient with which Sông Cái ’s snare is made , results in a liveliness that isofVietnam in so many way of life . “ We wanted to have a product that was made in Vietnam , ” says Nguyen . “ you could develop like a French rose or Damascus rose in Vietnam and call it a local merchandise — but we ’re trying to take native or heirloom varietals and hold up Fannie Merritt Farmer at once in that way . ”
This intentionality does n’t block at the plants . Sông Cái works closely with community , like the Red Dao in the Central Highlands of Vietnam . It went from sourcing and pay for natural materials “ to us invest into a adroitness that ’s co - owned by the biotic community or possess entirely by a community . ”
All this to respond the abstractionist and ever - open - all over question of what a Vietnamese gin is supposed to be .
It ’s a query that Nguyen is still parsing out five years into producing spirits , but so far it ’s deliver three gin : Sông Cái ’s Dry Gin , Floral Gin , and Spice Roselle . The latter is an amaro - like style—“an homage to a traditional Vietnamese fruit liqueur combined with a little snatch of a nod to Vietnamese herbal liqueurs , ” says Nguyen . The still macerates rise myrtle berries and roselle buds for over a year in the gin fundament . The outcome is a vivid red drunkenness complete for sipping as you would an aperitif . There ’s spice alongside floral , tropic aromas with a woody and earthy finish .
The vivacious deep red hue is also an auspicious color for Lunar New Year , or Tếtas they call it in Vietnam . category altars offer also frequently include some form of alcohol for thirsty love ones who ’ve since passed away . If you do n’t require to quaff the gin neat , as Nguyen suggests , he also recommends top it with some ginger ale or beer and finishing with a fresh linden tree or mint .
“ It ’s really a fourth dimension to celebrate , wreak in good luck for the next year — a part of that inevitably is drinking , ” aver Nguyen .
