Empirical creates coriander-flavoured spirit

The latest release from Empirical aims to make the divisive flavours of coriander accessible in cocktails.

Brooklyn-based Empirical is adding to its portfolio of flavour-bending spirits with Cilantro. The start-up brand turned heads in December with its Doritos nacho cheese-flavoured spirit and took on the polarising herb with its latest release. “Everyone’s heard of cilantro,” said founder and former Noma chef Lars Williams said. “But to look at cilantro as something that falls outside of the norms of beverage? That was so interesting.” Empirical Cilantro is made from French wheat and bottled at 38% ABV. It will be available for US$35 in New York, California and other select states. The spirit was designed to be unique yet approachable, and work in cocktails like a Margarita or Highball. “When you taste Empirical Cilantro with soda, it just opens up in a completely beautiful way,” Williams added. Founded in 2017, Empirical takes an imaginative approach to spirits deploying an ‘uncategorisable’ ethos centred around flavour and ingredients rather than traditional styles or categories. Cilantro opens with a ‘fresh citrus bouquet’ and a ‘pop of garden herbaceousness’ followed by dry minerality and hints of fennel and green tomato. “We’ve had many people who really dislike cilantro try our spirit,” said Williams. “But when they taste it, they like it. They’ll say: ‘Oh, this is actually really fresh, green and herbal’, as opposed to something soapy or metallic.” Alongside the release, Empirical is launching an ad campaign titled ‘Mutants Welcome’. Whether someone likes coriander or not is allegedly a genetic mutation, and so the brand has unveiled a new marketing message: “Cilantro lovers are human too.” Cilantro is the debut expression from Empirical’s new headquarters and R&D laboratory in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The new space also houses 53 A.D., the brand’s tasting room and cocktail bar slated to open later this month.