By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
Doritos has finally given us the thing we never knew we needed: Nacho Cheese flavored booze.
The cheesy new spirit is a collaboration with the Danish flavor and spirits innovator Empirical. The two companies worked together to create what they described as “a multi-sensorial, delicious beverage experience that smells and tastes just like the real thing, bringing the iconic flavor of Doritos Nacho Cheese Chips into the spirits aisle.”
Tina Mahal, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Frito-Lay North America, says the collaboration is really meant to disrupt the spirits industry with a product that in many ways seems impossible. It’s basically having your chips and drinking them too.
“Doritos is all about disrupting culture and bringing our fans unexpected, bold experiences,” said Mahal. “We’re always pushing our fans to try new things, so we figure it’s time we disrupt the spirits category by offering our iconic nacho cheese flavor in a bottle.”
What’s really interesting about the product though, is that it appears Empirical didn’t just simulate the taste of Doritos chips in this beverage. Rather, they extracted the flavor from actual Doritos. The company says that, to create the flavor, the many flavor layers of Doritos Nacho Cheese are extracted through Empirical’s innovative production process, using real Doritos chips and retaining their essence through vacuum distillation. Unlike traditional distillation methods, vacuum distillation operates at lower temperatures, preserving the full spectrum of flavors derived from Doritos.
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In other words, you’re not just drinking something that tastes like Doritos; you’re really drinking an alcoholic version of Doritos. Mind … blown.
“Empirical is an ‘uncategorized’ spirits company, so it allows us the freedom to experiment with really interesting flavors and not have to be stuck in a gin box or tequila box or whiskey box,” says Lars Williams, Chef/Distiller & CEO, Empirical. “And we can take something that has a unique and amazing flavor, like Doritos, and evolve it into something completely new.”
That something new even comes with tasting notes, described as “Nacho cheese, corn tostada, umami, and a hint of acidity.” Of course, if you’ve ever eaten a Doritos Nacho Cheese chip, you don’t really need tasting notes!
As well, the partners were kind enough to send some cocktail recipes featuring the Doritos Nacho Cheese Spirit. Since we are coming up on the weekend, here are three cocktails you can make at home, after ordering your Nacho Cheese beverage from doritos.x.empirical.co. Enjoy!
Double Triangle Margarita
1 oz Empirical x Doritos Nacho Cheese Spirit
1 oz blanco tequila
.75 oz fresh lime juice
.75 oz agave syrup (3:1)
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake hard for 10 to 12 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass over ice. Garnish with a Tajín salt rim and a lime wheel.
Mary Mary
1.5 oz Empirical x Doritos Nacho Cheese Spirit
.5 oz tequila
3 oz tomato juice
1 barspoon lemon juice
1 barspoon Worcestershire sauce
Big pinch of celery salt
Big pinch of cracked black pepper
Tiny pinch of cayenne
Build all ingredients in a Collins glass. Add ice and pass a barspoon through the drink 3 to 4 times. Garnish with pepperoncini, seasoned celery and a pickled onion.
Doritos Bangarang
2 oz Empirical x Doritos Nacho Cheese Spirit
1 pinch smoked sea salt
1 squeeze fresh grapefruit (or citrus of choice)
Top with Pepsi
Fill Collins glass with ice. Add Empirical x Doritos Nacho Chip Spirit, sea salt, grapefruit and top with Pepsi. Stir 3 – 4 times. Garnish with grapefruit wedge.