Beer/Wine/Spirits

Doritos and Empirical Launch Nacho Cheese Spirit

Doritos unveiled a collaboration with Empirical: Empirical x Doritos Nacho Cheese Spirit. This limited-release offers a "multi-sensorial beverage experience" of the smells and tastes of Doritos Nacho Cheese Chips.

"Doritos is all about disrupting culture and bringing our fans unexpected, bold experiences," says Tina Mahal, senior vice president of marketing for Frito-Lay North America. "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."

To create the flavor, the flavor layers of Doritos Nacho Cheese are extracted through Empirical's 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 spectrum of flavors derived from Doritos.

"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."

Limited-edition bottles of Empirical x Doritos Nacho Cheese Spirit will be available next month for a suggested retail price of $65.00 (42% ABV, 750ml) online and in select New York and California markets. Pre-orders begin December 13, 2023 at doritos.x.empirical.co.