Sông Cái Vietnam Dry Gin: The Mother River's Fourteen Botanicals — Mắc Mật Berries, Jungle Pepper, and Pomelo Zest from Hanoi

Item: Sông Cái Vietnam Dry Gin: The Mother River's Fourteen Botanicals — Mắc Mật Berries, Jungle Pepper, and Pomelo Zest from Hanoi
Rating: 8
Author: Ash Carrington

Ash Carrington November 13, 2025 1 views

8 /10

EDITOR

Distillery: Sông Cái Distillery
Type: Contemporary
ABV: 45% ABV
Price: £42.50
Botanicals: juniper, mắc mật berry, mắc mật leaf, mắc khén jungle pepper, peppercorn, pomelo zest, liquorice, đia siêu wood, ginger, turmeric, coriander, cassia leaf, cassia bark

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Tasting Notes

Nose

Huge piney citrusy juniper — cinnamon, star anise, tangerine, lime peel, the Vietnamese botanicals creating extraordinary aromatic complexity

Palate

Mắc mật fruit echoing juniper — black peppercorn, rosewater, grapefruit, fresh ginger, dried flowers, sweet licorice, delicate herbs, the fourteen botanicals in wonderful balance

Finish

Fresh ginger and prickly ash — vibrant and piquant, dry woody veneer from the đia siêu, the Mother River's spirit persisting

First Impressions

Sông Cái — 'Mother River', referring to Hanoi's Red River — is Vietnam's first gin. Fourteen botanicals distilled in direct-fire copper alembic pot stills: mắc mật berries (a juniper-like fruit), mắc khén jungle pepper, pomelo zest, đia siêu wood, ginger, turmeric, cassia leaf and bark. A tribute to the farmers along the river.

Tasting

Fourteen Vietnamese botanicals. Huge piney nose with cinnamon and lime. Mắc mật and peppercorn palate with ginger and florals. Ginger and prickly ash finish.

The Bottom Line

Sông Cái earns an 8 — Vietnam's first gin is a triumph. The mắc mật berry and jungle pepper create flavours unavailable outside Vietnam. At £43, the Red River in a bottle.