Mad Scientists in Denmark Have Created a New Class of Canned Cocktail
Empirical Spirits distills drinks with oolong tea, sour cherry, walnut wood, and pine cones.
In Copenhagen, the street Refshalevej curves past the city’s most famous restaurants—Noma, Alchemist, and Amass—and takes you to the doors of Empirical Spirits. The distillery describes itself as a “flavor company,” making novel alcoholic magic by macerating fruit, herbs, and botanicals into booze outside traditional categories such as gin, rum, or vodka. This spring it delves into the fast-growing world of canned beverages. Its Can 01 (charcoal black) and Can 02 (hot pink), each $11.25, are made from a vacuum-distilled spirit base of beet molasses and Belgian saison yeast—light enough for backyard grilling but rich enough for contemplative sipping.
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