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Summary
Sông Cái was founded in Hà Nội, Việt Nam by Daniel Nguyễn in 2018. After studying ethnobotany in California and Oregon, Vietnamese American Daniel returned to Viêt Nam to work with Oxfam America, the American Wetlands Foundation, and the Việt Nam Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on sustainable Mekong Delta development, focusing on agricultural supply chains. During his time there, he participated deeply in the everyday life of the local mountain communities he was living with in the Highlands of Northern Việt Nam. He studied the forest focusing on the medicinal plants, fruits, roots and barks used by the Red Dzao, H’Mong and Nùng communities for generations. He transitioned to formulating forest land allocation policy among minority tribes, and from there, set out to make the first gin ever distilled in Việt Nam.
The Vietnamese understanding of nature deals not only with water, land, and sky — but also culture and spirituality. Rooted in this all-encompassing philosophy, Sông Cái Distillery produces terroir-driven spirits that capture the flavors and provenance of Việt Nam’s vast, biodiverse landscape of highlands and deltas. The name, Sông Cái means “Mother River.” In the Vietnamese tradition, rivers are metaphorically representative of the notion of totality and origin: all forces of nature, life, and spirituality stem and flow from a holistic “Mother River.” In a similar manner, Sông Cái speaks to multiple elements of Việt Nam, from its agricultural roots to thriving cosmopolitan hubs.
Sông Cái is produced in a direct fire copper pot still, from a base distillate derived from rice & molasses. At least 16 wild, hand-foraged botanicals, fruits, flowers and wood unique to Northern Việt Nam are used to flavor their gins. Sông Cái now works with 70 + families to harvest botanicals.
