Discover Cambodian gin through the creations of Seekers and Mawsim, featuring pandan, Khmer basil, tropical citrus, pepper, and wild cardamom.
When one thinks of gin, Cambodia is probably not the first country that comes to mind.
Yet, this relative absence of established traditions may well be one of its strengths.
For some years now, a new generation of distillers in Phnom Penh has been exploring the country's plants, fruits, spices, and citrus to create a contemporary interpretation of artisanal gin.
Pandan, Khmer basil, lemongrass, Battambang citrus, Kampot pepper, and wild cardamom: all ingredients that enable the construction of aromatic profiles deeply inspired by Cambodia and, more broadly, the Mekong basin.
Two houses particularly embody this new scene: Seekers Spirits and Mawsim.
Two different visions of gin, but a shared desire: to make the territory a true playground for creation.
Why produce gin in Cambodia?
Unlike rum, whose identity is intimately linked to sugar cane, gin offers distillers a particularly wide degree of freedom.
To be classified as gin, the spirit must retain juniper as its characteristic flavor. But around this base, many other botanical ingredients can gravitate: fruits, zests, seeds, roots, flowers, herbs, or spices.
This is precisely where Cambodia becomes interesting.
Its tropical climate and the biodiversity of the Mekong basin offer producers a very different aromatic palette from that traditionally associated with European gins.
Seekers also describes the Mekong as one of the most biodiverse regions in the world and works with farmers and producers in the region to incorporate some of its flavors into its spirits.
Gin then becomes a kind of blank canvas.
Juniper provides the structure.
The territory provides the identity.
What characterizes Cambodian gin?
It would still be premature to define a true "Cambodian style."
The scene is young, and there are few enough producers for each house to maintain a very personal identity.
This is precisely what makes this period particularly interesting.
Seekers and Mawsim do not produce the same gin and do not tell Cambodia's story in the same way.
At Seekers, the universe is built around the Mekong, its producers, and its botanical diversity.
At Mawsim, the approach is more experimental, with micro-distillation and extensive exploration of local tropical ingredients.
What brings these creations together is rather a philosophy: using the region's aromatic resources to offer a local interpretation of an international spirit.
Cambodian gin therefore does not necessarily seek to replicate the great European London Dry gins.
It is beginning to develop its own language.
The Mekong, an immense aromatic garden
To understand this approach, one must look at what grows around the distilleries.
Citrus fruits, flowers, aromatic leaves, roots, spices, and tropical fruits all constitute raw materials that can interest a distiller.
At Seekers, this exploration is particularly visible.
The house works with producers from Cambodia and the Mekong basin and also has its own botanical garden in Phnom Penh.
It presents itself as the capital's first "garden-to-glass" distillery: some of the plants are cultivated in its educational garden, while others come from partnerships with small producers in the region.
This approach places the origin of ingredients at the center of creation.
Gin is no longer solely defined by its recipe.
It begins with a plant, a fruit, a spice, or a producer.
Pandan, Khmer basil, and Battambang citrus
The SEEKERS Mekong Dry Gin is an excellent example of this philosophy.
The house uses thirteen botanical ingredients. Alongside juniper and angelica root are ingredients much more characteristic of Southeast Asia.
Seekers particularly highlights four of them: pandan, Asian kaffir lime leaf, green oranges from Battambang, and Khmer basil.
Pandan brings a slightly sweet and fragrant aromatic character.
Khmer basil brings a fresh, herbaceous dimension.
Kaffir lime leaves enhance the vibrancy of the citrus.
As for the green oranges from Battambang, their essential oils contribute to the freshness and texture of the gin.
The recipe also notably includes lemongrass, jasmine, pomelo, coriander, cassia, and palm seeds.
A true aromatic journey through the region.
Seekers: capturing the spirit of the Mekong
Based in Phnom Penh, Seekers summarizes its philosophy in a few words: capturing the spirit of the Mekong and distilling it into a bottle.
The project, therefore, deliberately extends beyond Cambodia's administrative borders.
The Mekong becomes a map for exploring the cultures, ingredients, and producers of Southeast Asia.
Its Mekong Dry Gin is based on an alcohol derived from cassava root and thirteen botanical ingredients. The house currently offers a 41.3% vol. gin, with a fresh, aromatic, herbaceous profile marked by citrus and pandan.
This base also serves as the starting point for the Mekong Gold Gin.
This second expression benefits from barrel aging, which notably brings notes of cinnamon, coconut, and vanilla while retaining the emblematic ingredients of the Mekong Dry.
Two expressions that already show that the same botanical terroir can be interpreted in very different ways.
From garden to glass
One of Seekers' most interesting features is located just a few steps from the distillation facilities.
Its botanical garden allows visitors to discover various plants associated with the house's aromatic universe.
Seekers presents species cultivated in the garden, as well as ingredients from agricultural partnerships in Cambodia and the Mekong basin. The house highlights an approach based on biodiversity, responsible agriculture, and ingredient traceability.
The distillery also explains that it uses cold maceration and modern distillation technologies. According to Seekers, some of these facilities reduce energy consumption by 25% and preserve up to 95% of the water used in the process.
This approach illustrates a broader evolution in the world of spirits: aromatic research can no longer be completely dissociated from how ingredients are cultivated and processed.
Mawsim: another vision of Cambodian gin
In Phnom Penh, Mawsim explores gin from a very different perspective.
The project originated from an environmental reflection around water hyacinth, an invasive plant found particularly in Tonlé Sap.
The initial objective was to study the possibility of transforming this unused biomass into bioethanol to contribute to the restoration of biodiversity and water quality, while seeking an energy source that does not compete with food crops.
Research into ethanol gradually opened up another field of experimentation: artisanal spirits.
Mawsim now develops its gins in a micro-distillery in Phnom Penh, with small-batch production and extensive work on local ingredients.
A particularly unusual origin in the world of gin.
Pepper, cardamom, and tropical citrus
Mawsim's aromatic universe revolves around other facets of Cambodia.
The house particularly highlights fresh pepper, wild cardamom, and tropical citrus, selected as botanical ingredients for its creations.
Two expressions particularly well illustrate this approach.
The MAWSIM Tropical Citrus Gin explores the freshness and character of tropical citrus.
Mawsim Spices & Herbs leans more towards spices and aromatic plants, with a significant emphasis on pepper and cardamom.
This contrast is particularly revealing of the potential richness of gin in Cambodia.
A single distillery can tell the story of the territory through two entirely different aromatic landscapes: on one side, fruits and citrus; on the other, spices and plants.
When Kampot pepper meets gin
Pepper is precisely one of the most interesting ingredients in this new scene.
Globally renowned in the culinary world, Kampot pepper also finds its place in the world of spirits.
Its various aromatic expressions allow distillers to work with spicy, herbaceous, fresh, or warmer notes depending on the type of pepper and how it is used.
Mawsim notably makes fresh pepper one of the emblematic ingredients of its gin work.
This encounter perfectly illustrates what Cambodian spirits can offer.
An international product like gin becomes a way to showcase an ingredient deeply associated with Cambodian territory.
Cambodian gins already internationally awarded
This scene remains niche, but some creations are already attracting the attention of international competitions.
The Seekers Mekong Dry Gin won a gold medal at the World Gin Masters Asia in 2018. The house now has several international distinctions for various creations, including a gold medal for the Mekong Gold Gin in 2020 and, more recently, 94 points and a gold medal at IWSC 2024 for its Pearl of Asia Gin.
Mawsim has also gained particularly significant recognition.
In 2023, the Mawsim Tropical Citrus was awarded a gold medal, the Country Winner title for Cambodia, and especially the title of World's Best Flavoured Gin at the World Gin Awards.
The same year, Mawsim Spices & Herbs won gold and the Country Winner title for Cambodia in the Contemporary Style Gin category. A new gold medal was then awarded at the World Gin Awards 2024 in the Signature Botanical category.
These awards are obviously not enough to make Cambodia a great historical gin nation.
But they demonstrate that creations produced in Phnom Penh are beginning to be evaluated and recognized far beyond the Kingdom.
Does a true Cambodian gin exist?
The question is worth asking.
Cambodian gin is not a regulated appellation or a historical style comparable to some great European traditions.
Nor does it have a common recipe.
And that is precisely what makes it interesting today.
Seekers notably uses pandan, Khmer basil, and Battambang citrus.
Mawsim explores fresh pepper, wild cardamom, and tropical citrus.
Tomorrow, other producers might choose other plants, other fruits, or other methods.
What could progressively define Cambodian gin is therefore perhaps not a recipe.
It is rather a way of using the biodiversity and ingredients of the territory to build a unique aromatic identity.
How to taste Cambodian gin?
To discover these gins, it's best to start simply.
An initial neat tasting, possibly with a few drops of water, allows identifying the main aromas without them being masked by other ingredients.
The gin and tonic then constitutes an excellent entry point, provided a relatively neutral tonic is chosen to allow the botanicals to express themselves.
The garnish can also extend the gin's identity rather than mask it.
Seekers, for example, recommends an Asian kaffir lime leaf with its Mekong Dry Gin.
Cocktails then offer a much broader playground.
Tropical citrus, basil, pandan, ginger, or other Asian ingredients can create interesting bridges with the gin's aromatic profiles.
But the rule remains the same: it's better to first understand what the spirit is saying before trying to transform it.
Phnom Penh, a new city for artisanal gin in Asia?
It would still be premature to call Phnom Penh the Asian capital of gin.
But something interesting is happening there.
In the same city, houses like Seekers and Mawsim are developing two very different visions of the spirit.
One explores the Mekong basin, works with regional producers, and develops its own botanical garden.
The other originated from an environmental project before exploring the fruits, spices, and plants of Cambodia through micro-distillation.
These initiatives remain modest on a global scale.
But they bear witness to a genuine culture of experimentation.
And it is perhaps precisely in these young scenes that some of the most original creations are currently emerging.
Gin, another way to discover Cambodia
A gin may seem like just a blend of juniper and botanicals.
But when one starts to look into the origin of these ingredients, the bottle becomes something else.
It can tell the story of Battambang oranges.
Khmer basil.
Pandan and lemongrass.
Wild cardamom.
Tropical citrus.
Pepper cultivated in the south of the country.
It can also tell the story of the farmers who cultivate these ingredients, the distillers who select them, and a new generation of entrepreneurs who seek to show a different facet of Cambodia.
The Cambodian gin scene is still young.
It probably hasn't finished evolving.
But between the botanical richness of the territory, the experimentation of distilleries, and the first international recognitions, it already possesses a particularly intriguing identity.
Cambodian gin doesn't tell a fixed tradition. It tells the story of a territory in full exploration.
And that is precisely what makes it exciting to discover.
More than spirits. Another way to discover Cambodia.