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The “Uncategorizeable” Spirits of Empirical
(Pictured above founder Lars Williams alongside GN Chan of the Lower East Side’s Double Chicken Please, who showcases Empirical’s The Plum, I Suppose in their famous Key Lime Pie cocktail)
I’ve been fortunate enough in my writing career to come into contact with some incredibly interesting and passionate people. One of those people is Lars Williams, one of the founders of Empirical. The products that he shepherds are truly unique, and as they say, can’t be categorized in traditional ways. We’ve been fortunate to host them multiple times in the shop and look forward to seeing whatever concoctions they come up with next. Today, we want to shine a quick light on these innovators.
Empirical focuses on creating flavorful spirits that they describe as “uncategorizable.” It’s not whiskey, tequila, or anything you’re familiar with. It’s different and delicious—and the best bartenders around the world have taken notice. You’ll see their bottles on the shelves of many of the finest bars on Earth.
Lars Williams and Mark Emil Hermansen are two curious minds that are constantly questioning what flavors can be used in spirit making, and they are doing so in a way that rubs against traditional categories and profiles. Spinning out of a cooking career at Rene Redzepi’s NOMA in Copenhagen (a restuarant that has been voted best in the world twice), Williams and Hermansen took a deep look at where flavors came from in their spirits.
While they approach the process from an incredibly disciplined, almost scientific point of view, their methodical documentation doesn’t get in the way of the soul of their creations. Each spirit is a celebration of flavor and memory.
The base spirit SOKA combines distillates of fermented fresh sorghum juice and syrup which is fermented with a Thai rice yeast. The resulting spirit is a blend of spring and fall: fresh green fruits mingle with hay and honey.
Symphony 6 is a celebration of summer twilight full of citrus leaves, ambrette seeds, fig leaves, coffee leaves, vetiver, and black currant buds—which lead the flavor profile. It’s refreshing and lifted but contains a darkness—a symphony of flavors successful in evoking twilight.
The Ayuuk is based on a hike through the Sierra Norte mountains and is a celebration of the Paasilla Mixe chili pepper. The pepper is the only botanical in this spirit and is the source of all its complexity other than its finishing in used Oloroso sherry casks which boost the savory notes on the finish.
The Plum, I Suppose, is my personal favorite and can be found as a modifier in the best cocktail bars around. Based on Lar’s memory of his grandmother’s frangipane tarts, the spirit has a distinct marzipan feeling that comes from plum kernels, which are lifted by a marigold kombucha. It’s complex, unique, and utterly delicious.
(Pictured here in Double Chicken Please’s amazing Key Lime Pie.)
Luckily, Empirical has decamped from Copenhagen and moved to New York and has just recently opened 53AD, their cocktail bar and tasting room in Bushwick. For flavor hounds, this is a must-visit.
