Sacramento-area Vietnamese rice liquor distillery is first in California
RANCHO CORDOVA — A new distillery in the Sacramento area is one of its kind in the Golden State.
Binh Dao gave me a tour of his new Rancho Cordova business, Dao Distillery, which produces rượu đế, a premium Vietnamese rice liquor. The distillery is the first of its kind in California, and the second in the U.S.
"[Rượu đế is] very similar to whiskey. We start out with the rice. Cook the rice, mash it, then ferment it and then distill it," Dao said. "So in a way, [it is] similar to making saké."
Dao is a Sacramento City College chemistry professor.
"Honestly, I enjoy a good liquor, and I like to do experiments with various things and taste new products," Dao said. "That's always been one of my passions."
It's a passion that is a byproduct of his perserverence. Dao's family is one of the last so-called "boat people" who fled Vietnam in 1991 as political refugees: his parents and six boys.
"The youngest was a few months old and the trip took us 2.5 weeks in the ocean," Dao said. "We were so lucky to have actually survived."
They spent five years in a refugee camp in Hong Kong then were deported back to Vietnam before finally receiving word they could immigrate to the U.S. Along the way, Dao developed a taste in alcohol harkening back to his roots.
"I enjoyed liquor, cognac armignac, whiskey, bourbon, all of that and the rượu đế that I tried for the very first time was very unique, and that's when it really struck me. We have such an incredible vietnamese traditional liquor that nobody seemed to really appreciate," he said.
Dao's dream to open this Rancho Cordova distillery and tasting room was officially realized just over a week ago.
"We want to bring this traditional product back," he said. "Something the Vietnamese people would be proud to drink."
Dao wants to bring awareness and overcome stereotypes among his own people about rượu đế stemming from quality control issues back home.
"We are hoping we can change peoples mentality about it, that this can be an awesome product," he said. "High quality and a safe product everyone can enjoy."