Song Cai Distillery - Floral Gin

Our Floral Gin is a celebration of the vast deltas and remote mountains of Việt Nam. A marriage of five distinct flowers — dragon claw flower, ylang ylang, jasmine, michelia alba, and pomelo — the result is a truly unique fresh and floral gin.

Established in 2018 by Daniel Nguyen in Hanoi, Vietnam, Sông Cái Distillery (pronounced similarly to [song-kai]) is Vietnam’s first gin distillery. Founded as an economic model to add value to the native grains, botanicals, and microbes prevalent in local communities, this 100% Vietnamese-owned distillery tells the story of these agricultural products and the people behind them. The name Sông Cái translates to “Mother River,” a unifying concept that represents a shared community, spirituality, and history of the global Vietnamese diaspora.

Born and raised in Southern California, Daniel Nguyen moved to Vietnam in 2012 to pilot sustainable supply chain management and economic development programs with Oxfam America, The American Wetlands Foundation, and The Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. This work revealed the complexities of Vietnam’s booming economy and its effects on the agricultural landscape, wherein a single season can bring radical alterations that ripple outward, directly affecting every Vietnamese community.

• Vietnamese gin produced by Sông Cái Distillery in Hanoi, Vietnam
• Native and heirloom Vietnamese botanicals include pomelo blossom, jasmine, ylang ylang, ngọc lan (white jade orchid), and móng rồng (tail grape)
• Juniper sourced from Macedonia; all other botanicals locally sourced in collaboration with Vietnamese highland mountain communities
• Neutral spirit produced from rice and molasses
• Botanicals are grouped by their flavor profiles and volatility, macerated in neutral spirit, and separately distilled before blending
• Distilled in direct-fire copper alembic pot stills
• Orange blossom, tart black cherry, white tea, and jackfruit on the nose precede a lush palate of jasmine pearls, orange peel, pink peppercorn, and elderflower with pomelo peel, bee pollen, and a touch of tropical lychee sweetness on the finish
• 45% ABV

Traditionally, Vietnam enjoys celebrations on the 1^st and 15^th of every month revolving around the harvesting of flowers to decorate family altars and perfume homes. Sông Cái Floral Gin is a contemporary dry gin that celebrates this native flora. Enjoy this delightful expression simply on the rocks or with soda, as well in cocktails such as a Ramos Gin Fizz, a White Negroni, or an Aviation without the polarizing crème de violette!