May is a collaborative project between Song Cai and Ms. Ly Lo May (Ms. Chan), a Red Dao female healer and Song Cai’s long-term partner for over eight years.

The Red Dao are renowned for their knowledge of botany, herbal medicine used in baths, foot baths, and medicinal wine. May’s recipe is based on the traditional medicinal wine of the Red Dao (“Dia Tiu” in the Red Dao language). Dia Tiu has long been used as a medicine to treat muscle pain and digestive problems. Together, Song Cai and Ms. Chan have researched family documents and standardized the recipe over the past eight years to create the current May recipe.

With its prominent bitter and smoky taste, it has many similarities to Italian amaro lines. May’s flavor is reminiscent of lapsang tea (with a smoky aroma), sassafras, and wood from the kitchen. With the characteristic taste of honey and wax from Dang In fruit, May is perfect as an aperitif or digestive aid. You can enjoy May pure, with ice, mixed with Xa Xi water, or coffee, ice cream.