I don’t think that anyone has ever felt like their liquor of choice should taste more like cheese, but here we are. Doritos and Empirical, a flavor-focused spirits company, just released the limited-edition Empirical x Doritos Nacho Cheese Spirit. As questionable as that product sounds, its origin story low-key makes me want to try it.
In an Instagram video, the founder of Empirical, Lars Williams, confidently explains, “The origin of the Dorito spirit is serendipitous, like I think the best things are.” Here’s how it went down: Early on in the company, one team member sat down to eat his lunch of a sandwich and a bag of Doritos. Williams took one look at those Doritos and, like a real elementary school bully, straight up took them away. But then, like a real mad scientist, he turned them into booze. The Empirical team ended up loving the nacho cheese liquor. And that’s why we’ll all be drinking Doritos Bloody Marys this New Year’s Day.
Does the Empirical x Doritos Nacho Cheese Spirit taste any good?
Empirical certainly thinks that the Doritos spirit tastes #worthy. But people, let’s be honest, there’s likely a reason that nacho cheese liquor isn’t a staple yet. That said, Velveeta mac & cheese cocktails were a thing for a second at select BLT restaurant locations. Cheez-It also went there with their Cheez-It sparkling wine launches—yes, launchES, as in, they thought this was a grand old idea multiple times.
In a taste test, Food & Wine said that the Empirical x Doritos Nacho Cheese Spirit tastes and smells like Doritos cheese dust, leaving a dry feeling in your throat. A Business Insider writer describes the spirit as tasting like “flavored vodka” but said that it gave the “sensation of nacho chip powder floating around [his] mouth.” A Paste goes into more detail, describing it as, “a rush of nacho cheese dust from the bottom of a Doritos bag, combined with an acidity and the unusual evocation of Cool Ranch Doritos flavor at the same time.” They go on to write that it is “like drinking the mixed Doritos dust out of a pint of warm, flat beer, which is just as harrowing an experience as it sounds.”
Stay tuned for the Sporked taste test of this product. Or give it a try yourself and let us know what you think of it in the comments. A warning: A large bottle of the Doritos spirit costs $65 online, so consult your wallet first.
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!