Rice • Water • Time •.
Rice • Water • Time •.
Rice wine born in Singapore and shaped by its rich heritage.
Our
Heritage
It started with a young girl, an act of kindness, and a humble kitchen in the heart of Singapore’s Chinatown.
The Bottles
Go Go Gai | Crisp. Crystalline. Smooth.
A clarified, near-dry rice wine brewed from California-grown short-grain sweet rice, with citrus and pear notes. Light and precise on the palate, it opens with a subtle sweetness and finishes with a gentle warmth--a quiet nod to the tonic wine traditions from which this style descends. Pairs well with light fare.
Kekwa | Bright. Fresh. Floral
Kekwa — Malay for chrysanthemum — is a light brew made from Thai sweet rice and infused with chrysanthemum. Delicately balanced, it retains a slight cloudiness to preserve notes of honey and a bright, hop-like herbal finish. If you enjoy a pale beer or a light, crisp cider on a hot day, this alternative will feel right at home.
Double Cream | Velvety. Luscious. Fruity.
A full-bodied, unfiltered rice wine made with short-grain and sweet rice. Silky and expressive, it draws inspiration from the bold and cloudy rice wines of Korea. Still, it remains rooted in Southeast Asian heritage, with distinct notes of tropical fruit and toasted grain. Enjoy chilled with food, or on the rocks as a dessert pour.
Meet The Founder
That’s Abe, like Abe Lincoln. Not Abé, as in Shinzo!
I started Zeoi Sam a few years ago as a way to spend more time with my grandmother, Rita (92). Grandmother, or Popo as we call her in our family, is one of the many matriarchs who helped raise me. So when she needed extra care and companionship in her old age, I returned home to Singapore to help.
It never occured to me that in doing so I’d be inheriting some of Popo’s most cherished memories. Or that rice wine and the act of brewing, would give her a way to recall long-forgotten stories about the people who shaped her life and the wisdom they passed on.
I was so inspired by what Popo had to share, that I decided to leave behind a burgeoning career as a journalist and take up brewing. There was just one problem, over the years the practice of rice wine brewing has all but slipped away from Singapore’s collective consciousness. What was once a proud tradition many families partook in at home, has become a distant memory — safe guarded by people like Popo, who remember the island long before skyscrapers and megastructures dotted the horizon.
So began my journey to rediscover a piece of our shared heritage almost lost to time. For years I’ve developed recipes and knowledge, learning from practitioners both back home and from cultures across Asia.
Today, my family and I have plans to develop the Zeoi Sam Brewery in Singapore. A place where uniquely Singaporean rice wine, informed by both Chinese and Indigenous Malay heritage, can be honored and reimagined—where we can introduce the world to a new category of wine we’re calling Tapai Singapura.
Hey! I’m Abe
