As brand crossovers continue into the alcohol space, Doritos today unveiled a collaboration with the flavor company Empirical: Empirical x Doritos Nacho Cheese Spirit.
This limited-release smells and tastes just like the real thing, the companies say, bringing the flavor of these nacho cheese chips into the spirits aisle.
“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 layers of the chips are extracted through Empirical’s production process, using real Doritos chips and retaining their essence through vacuum distillation, the companies say. Unlike traditional distillation methods, vacuum distillation operates at lower temperatures, which us meant to preserve the full taste spectrum derived from snack.
“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.”
These limited-edition bottles are available next month for a suggested retail price of $65 per 750-ml. bottle. They are 42% ABV, and available online and in select New York and California markets.
