THE GIN PASSPORT ATLAS - DISTILLERY STORY- PINNED ON THE MAP - ASIA

Some gins are lovely to drink, but every now and then one comes along with a story that makes you want to learn more about the place, the people and the ingredients behind it. Sông Cái is definitely one of those — and it's one of my favourite gins on my shelf.


Sông Cái means “Mother River”, a name that reflects the Vietnamese belief that rivers are at the heart of life, nature and culture. It is also a rather perfect name for a distillery whose story stretches from the remote Northern Highlands to the Mekong Delta.


Founded by Daniel Nguyen, Sông Cái began with a desire to do something much bigger than simply make gin. Daniel wanted to create a platform that celebrated Vietnam's biodiversity, native ingredients and the communities who have nurtured them for generations.


The distillery now works with more than 70 farming and foraging families, helping to create an economic reason to preserve native and heirloom plants rather than replace them with more commercially useful crops.


The gin itself is a wonderful expression of this idea. The original Vietnam Dry Gin uses 16 wild-foraged Vietnamese botanicals, including ingredients such as turmeric, jungle pepper, black cardamom, ginger, pomelo and local berries and leaves.


The botanicals are collected from the Northern Highlands, where Sông Cái has built relationships with H'mong and Red Dao communities and learned about the plants, their uses and the culture surrounding them.


The result is nothing like a generic “Asian-inspired” gin. It is bold, aromatic, spicy and wonderfully complex, with citrus, lychee, pepper and warm spice wrapped around a solid juniper backbone.


It's one of those bottles where you can keep going back to it and discover something different each time.



I've also had the pleasure of meeting Brennan Davis, Sông Cái's international Brand Ambassador, several times when he has been in London.


Brennan is one of those people who can talk about a spirit without making you feel as though you've accidentally wandered into a lecture. His enthusiasm for Vietnam, the botanicals and the people behind Sông Cái is infectious, and he brings the story of the gin to life beautifully. He is currently representing the brand internationally, with masterclasses and events across Europe.


Perhaps that's another reason I have such a soft spot for this gin. It isn't just a bottle of gin; it feels like a little piece of Vietnam, with a huge amount of history, culture and biodiversity packed inside.


I couldn't finish this without mentioning Mẩy, a Red Dao medicine woman whose relationship with Sông Cái goes right back to its early days.


Her knowledge of Vietnam's native plants has helped shape the botanicals used in their gins, while her own traditional medicine inspired the wonderfully distinctive Mẩy Amaro.


Mẩy is part of the Sông Cái story, with her knowledge and community benefiting from the relationship too.


Sông Cái — definitely one to seek out if you love discovering gins that have a real sense of place.


I've got many bottles on my shelf, but this is one I wouldn't want to be without.

"A gin that tastes of Vietnam"