Empirical Launches Groundbreaking New Spirit, Cilantro, and Debuts New Bar, 53 A.D.

Empirical Cilantro is a bold, innovative spirit set to shake up cocktail culture 

Flavor, first. What happens when Noma’s former head of R&D becomes a distiller? A wildly imaginative, rule-breaking take on spirits, informed by years of experimentation with ingredients, taste profiles and genre-blurring culinary techniques at one of the world’s most lauded restaurants. Empirical, the iconoclast spirits start-up that has turned heads since its founding in 2017, is releasing a new expression, Cilantro on Oct. 1, and will soon open the doors to a sure-to-be-talked-about new craft cocktail bar, 53 A.D., in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

Empirical Cilantro opens with a sprightly, fresh citrus bouquet and a pop of garden-fresh herbaceousness, before finishing with a satisfying dry minerality and hints of fennel and green tomato. With a 38% ABV and a smooth base spirit made from French wheat, Cilantro is thoroughly unique yet designed to be approachable to cocktail fans and newcomers alike. Bursting with flavor in every drop, Cilantro shines in margaritas and sparkles with club soda.

Cilantro is the latest take on Empirical’s “uncategorizable” ethos. Like the other spirits in Empirical’s portfolio, Cilantro represents a new way of creating spirits, centered around flavors and ingredients, rather than producing liquids designed to fit into conventional styles.

“Everyone’s heard of cilantro,” Empirical founder and former Noma chef Lars Williams says. “But to look at cilantro as something that falls outside of the norms of beverage? That was so interesting.” Cilantro is a popular ingredient in many people’s kitchens, but is rarely used as the base for a cocktail. “When you taste Empirical Cilantro with soda, it just opens up in a completely beautiful way.”

Perhaps few ingredients are as famously divisive as fresh cilantro. But this represents a welcome challenge for Empirical. Taking a controversial flavor, and making it approachable through thoughtful manipulation, is core to the brand mission. “We’ve had many people that really dislike cilantro try our spirit,” Williams says. “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.”

Cilantro’s long reign as one of the world’s most polarizing flavors inspires Empirical’s newest campaign, “Mutants Welcome.” Whether someone likes the taste of cilantro or perceives it as soapy and off-putting often comes down to hereditary luck, or rather, a genetic mutation. The new marketing campaign, which comes to life via YouTube, posters and streetside stencils, nods to today’s contentious zeitgeist and opts for a cheeky message of social harmony: “Cilantro lovers are human too.”

Inspired by the dystopian allure of sci-fi apocalypse films, “Mutants Welcome” leans into today’s other hotly debated topic, artificial intelligence. The campaign uses visuals created by generative AI as well as a synthetic, stilted narrator in the first video. Quirky and knowing, “Mutants Welcome” is a siren call to cilantro lovers (and haters) all over the world. The full campaign launches Oct. 1 on YouTube;  you can watch it here.  (Campaign stills are linked below.)

Empirical is debuting a new production process for Cilantro. Empirical’s search for innovative and complex flavor expressions led to new partnerships and access to state-of-the-art technology. This proprietary process results in stridently fresh and nuanced flavor extractions which are blended with a light, soft French wheat spirit in the Brooklyn distillery. This method delivers a premium spirit at an accessible price point. Given how regularly this herb appears in people’s kitchens, Cilantro is poised to win over home mixologists as well as world-class bartenders.

Empirical Cilantro is the debut expression from Empirical’s new headquarters and R&D lab in Bushwick, New York. Perfected and bottled on site in Brooklyn, it’s a reflection of how the brand is excited about its new location and its communities. Located at 53 Scott Ave., Empirical’s new space also includes 53 A.D., a tasting room and cocktail bar, which opens later in October.

Empirical Cilantro retails for $35 and is available for pre-order on Empirical.co on Sept 25. It will be available in retail locations in New York, California and select states on Oct. 1, 2024 and available nationwide via Empirical.co.

Empirical Cilantro

Flavors: Refreshing, grassy, herbal

Suggested Serves: Over ice, with club soda, in a martini or a sour

Empirical Cilantro Cocktails

Cilantro & Soda

Makes one drink

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Empirical Cilantro
• 5 oz Fever Tree club soda
• Lime wheel, for garnish

Steps:

1. In a highball glass filled with ice, add the Empirical Cilantro.
2. Top with the club soda and gently stir to combine.
3. Garnish with the lime wheel.

Cilantro Martini

Makes one drink

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Empirical Cilantro
• ¼ oz Dry vermouth
• 2 dashes Orange bitters
• Lemon twist, for garnish

Steps:

1. In a mixing glass filled with ice, combine the Empirical Cilantro, vermouth and bitters.
2. Stir for 8 – 10 seconds.
3. Strain into a pre-chilled martini glass.
4. Express the lemon twist across the rim of the glass.

Cilantro Sour

Makes one drink

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Empirical Cilantro
• ¾ oz Fresh lime juice
• ½ oz Agave syrup
• Lime wheel, for garnish
• Salt, for rim (optional)

Steps:

1. In a shaker, combine Empirical Cilantro, fresh lime juice and agave syrup.
2. Add ice and shake briskly until well combined.
3. Strain into a rocks glass with a salt rim.
4. Add fresh ice and garnish with lime wheel.