Wildly Creative Empirical Distillery is Leading the Way in Uncategorized Spirits
Editor’s note: We previously shared a story that included the ready-to-drink offerings from Empirical. This time we dig deeper into the story behind the brand.
Mark Emil Hermansen left and Lars right (Lars Williams photo courtesy of Empirical)
In 2017, chef Lars Williams and fellow Noma alumnus Mark Emil Hermansen co-founded Empirical, a flavor-focused spirits company in Copenhagen. Now the pair’s incredibly unconventional distillery is moving to New York, a homecoming for Williams. The New York City native had previously been experimenting with flavors in food during an eight-year stint as a chef at Noma in Copenhagen, and as head of R&D for The Nordic Food Lab.
Moving to Brooklyn
Lars Williams photo courtesy of Empirical
As Empirical’s distiller, Williams is now taking on another responsibility for the company - opening their first distillery in Brooklyn. Set in North Bushwick, the new 5,000-square-foot distillery will become a full production facility, encompassing fermentation and distillation operations, bottling and canning lines, an R&D center, and a tasting room.
Scheduled to open for summer 2023, the new Empirical venue will also serve the company’s new headquarters. The transfer will mark Empirical winding down of their distillery in Denmark by June of the same year; an R&D facility and tasting room will move to a nearby location.
“Growing up in Brooklyn, Bushwick was an exciting place to be when I moved back there in 1997 after college, a place that epitomized the opportunity and potential that is New York; a delirious combination of industrial and artistic,” said Williams. “It remained the obvious choice for those reasons when we were looking to establish a New York presence.”
Empirical in the U.S.
Soka photo courtesy of Empirical
Empirical isn’t entirely new to the U.S. market. In 2022, the distillery released SOKA, a spirit made with fermented Wisconsin sorghum juice and Kentucky sorghum syrup.
Noting that sorghum was one of the first domesticated grains in the world, Williams began his interest in experimenting with sorghum syrup piqued after Empirical’s R&D head approached him with literature on the topic.
Upon viewing the syrup’s first production run in the States, Williams noted that results came up with “this bright green amazing thing that tastes like green apples and succulents and green grass, and I was completely blown away and the recipe that we had kind of went sideways.”
Williams wanted to incorporate more of those bright and brassy flavors into the final product. So then, he fermented the juice with Thai Rice Chong Yeast and then applied a second fermentation inspired by the dunder pits used in Jamaican rum production.
When a distiller from Denmark’s Stauning Whisky visited Empirical, Williams gave him a taste sample of this new spirit. “It reminded him of the grass plains where he grew up in Denmark as a kid,” said Williams. “For me, [when] you’ve had those moments, like that sense memory connection to the product that we’re trying to work with, that’s what I feel is a success.”
Williams’s views on taste being connected to visceral memories (which are experienced through our senses or emotions) remain a big part of his work.
“We lean into that and try to create spirits that have those sort of memory impressions,” said Williams. “We say that flavor dictates all of the decisions in the company. So if it’s not delicious, then it’s not acceptable, and it’s not delicious, we don’t do it and we don’t take shortcuts.“
Leading with Creativity
The Plum, I Suppose photo courtesy of Empirical
Creativity is a key driver in Empirical’s product lines, especially with bartenders using their spirits as ingredients in modern cocktails. For example, Williams mentioned that New York City’s Double Chicken Please came up with their Key Lime Pie cocktail with Empirical’s The Plum, I Suppose, along with Bombay Sapphire, Winter melon, sweet cream, egg white, lime and soda. The Plum, I Suppose is made with plum kernel, marigold, Belgian Saison 2 yeast, pilsner malt and malted barley. “It’s like giving a painter a new color palette to work with. And it’s really been amazing to see what bartenders can kind of extrapolate from the different spirits,” shares Williams.
Symphony 6
In fall 2022, Empirical introduced “Symphony 6,” a spirit with six underutilized yet highly aromatic leaves and includes lemon leaf, tangerine, fig, coffee, vetiver ambrette sees and black currant buds.
Empirical canned cocktails photo courtesy of Empirical
Additionally, Empirical has a line of canned cocktails to provide a beverage option.
While Williams is the distiller, Hermansen—who is also a social anthropologist—runs Empirical’s business side as their CEO. Hermansen will remain in Copenhagen, while Williams will return there on a monthly basis. In the U.S., the plan is to have their production closer to local sources and markets.
“I think our goal as a company is to change the way that people think about flavor and give people access to new and interesting flavors and hopefully get them to start thinking about it a little differently,” said Williams.