Maker Notes

Welcome to the Northern Highlands

It is a sacred and rugged place of jungles filled with botanicals that grow nowhere else, lush cascading rice terraces, and limestone peaks, and is home to indigenous communities, among them the Red Dzao and Hmong. We came to live with our partners, and participated deeply in everyday life in remote villages, foraging botanicals, eating local foods, and drinking local spirits. We learned about terroir, botany, spiritual animism, local culture, and gained knowledge of the unique seasonal flavors. We formed lifelong partnerships with communities, finding ways to collect and restore native and heirloom varieties of botanicals, grains, and fruits. We believe heirloom seeds and native varietals are implicated in culture and tradition. They give us insight into history, culture, politics, and the daily lives of people.

TASTING NOTES

NOSE: Sweet citrus peel, fresh pine, lychee, and hint of spice

PALATE: Spiced citrus, honey, lychee, and juniper berries

FINISH: Black pepper, and sweet yellow liquorice

Maker Notes

Our Floral Gin is a marriage of vast deltas and remote mountains. With heirloom fruits and a range of signature flowers, it captures the fresh flavors of Việt Nam in bloom.

Capturing bright and fresh flavors of the season’s first bloom. Our Floral Gin is a marriage of vast deltas and remote mountains of Việt Nam. Deltas are central to Việt Nam’s agricultural life, and culture. This riparian landscape lives according to the rhythm of flood and drought, of planting and harvest. The 1st and 15th of every lunar month is marked by a signature blossom often used to perfume local households, decorate family altars, or use in cooking.

Sông Cái traveled throughout Việt Nam’s lush deltas, gathering ingredients to combine with our highland botanicals. Paired with five distinct flowers, the result is a truly unique floral gin.

TASTING NOTES: 

NOSE: Fresh pine, black cherry, and ripe jack fruit

PALATE: A touch of ripe berry green pepper ylang ylang and bee pollen

FINISH: Gentle dried spice, and lingering citrus blossom notes

Maker Notes

Our Spiced Roselle Gin pays homage to the Central Highlands of Việt Nam. Inspired by Vietnamese traditional fruit liqueurs, our Spiced Roselle uses the Rose Myrtle berry-quả Sim, which grows wild in the Central Highlands.

The Central Highlands of Việt Nam are well-known for their red basalt soils. This fertile earth, rich in iron from long silent volcanoes nourishes a vast array of plant species, among them coffee, tea, and silk. It is home to majestic waterfalls, untouched primary forests, longhouses, Gong culture, Dam San epic poetry, and elephant training. Where indigenous groups - Jarai, Bahnar, and more, have been called home for centuries. Where animist beliefs are still part of everyday life. It is a gin that truly embodies the land’s spirit: warm spices, sweet and savory roots, dried fruits, balanced with soft tannins, and subtle acidity. It inherits a rich ruby color from the Sim berries, reminiscent of the red soils from which they grow and the traditional textiles of the people here. 

TASTING NOTES

NOSE: Cinnamon, dried blood plum and cherry, hint of anise, pepper and ginger

PALATE: Full bodied, soft tannins and subtle acidity, sweet berry warm spices

FINISH: Dried fruits, gentle fleeting wood, spices and root