Surprise: Dorito Flavored Liquor Is as Gross as You Would Expect
Photos via Frito-Lay, Empirical
What sensation do you immediately feel in the pit of your stomach, when you see the words “Doritos-infused liquor” on the screen before you? Is there a flutter of excitement, perhaps? Or a twist of revulsion, maybe more likely? The one thing I can’t imagine is a lack of reaction, as the concept of nacho cheese flavored hooch seems hardwired into our human DNA to provoke something visceral and primal. That’s what is coming our way in the next 24 hours, as the Frito-Lay snack giant teams up with adventurous, Denmark-based distillery Empirical to offer a first-of-its-kind concoction: Empirical x Doritos® Nacho Cheese Spirit. Superfans will be able to place their orders on the official site.
“Doritos is all about disrupting culture and bringing our fans unexpected, bold experiences,” said Tina Mahal, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Frito-Lay North America in a statement. “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.”
This is not merely some preexisting liqueur that happens to have a few spices in common with the iconic red bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos. This is instead a new spirit built from the ground up, using actual Nacho Cheese corn chips in round after round of vacuum distillation, seeking to capture those specific flavor essences for the final product. And having tasted this product, I can say with no reservations that they absolutely captured that flavor … to my chagrin.
“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,” said Lars Williams, Chef/Distiller & CEO, Empirical, in a statement. “And we can take something that has a unique and amazing flavor, like Doritos, and evolve it into something completely new.”