Former Noma chefs have designed experimental new cocktails
Empirical makes cocktail liquors and canned alcoholic drinks that feature unusual ingredients like fermented plum pits and distilled marigold kombucha

Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Thank you for signing up to Wallpaper. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Empirical is a Copenhagen-based purveyor of cocktail liquors and canned alcoholic drinks that wants to change your understanding of alcohol.
A self-described ‘flavour company', Empirical disregards typical categorisations of alcohol – gin, tequila, whisky – instead taking a ‘flavour-first' approach to alcoholic cocktails that blends, ferments, distills and generally plays with liquors to create previously non-existent flavours.
The brand's founders, Lars Williams and Mark Emil Hermansen, met whilst working at Noma in Copenhagen and the philosophy of the famed eatery is clearly at work in Empirical. For Williams and Hermansen, that the only delineation between edible and inedible is deliciousness – anything is up for grabs.
‘This process is unequivocally difficult and frustrating sometimes,' says the brand. ‘Actually no... it's difficult all the time. We’ve custom-built machinery, developed hybrid fermentation techniques, augmented low-temperature distillation, and traveled to source the highest-quality ingredients globally.’
‘All this because of our maniacal approach to complete our vision. We’ve told ourselves, we’ll worry about making it pretty later. For now, it’s about writing a playbook, that doesn’t exist, one distillation, one spirit, and one flavor at a time.’
The result is spirits like 'The Plum, I Suppose,' which is made from the kernel inside plum stones (spoiler: they taste like marzipan) and distilled marigold kombucha.
The canned drinks blend equally unexpected flavours, like Can 01 which features acidic gooseberry, flowery oolong tea, and toasted birch. We recommend packing them in your picnic basket for an added edge to your day in the park.
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Mary Cleary is the Beauty & Grooming Editor of Wallpaper*. Having been with the brand since 2017, she became an editor in February 2020 with the launch of the brand’s new beauty & grooming channel. Her work seeks to offer a new perspective on beauty, focusing on the pioneering personalities, product designs, and transformative trends within the industry.
-
Reed Krakoff ushers John Hardy jewellery into a new era, and refreshes its New York store
The ‘Spear’ jewellery collection riffs on John Hardy’s signature handwoven chain, while the boutique nods to the brand’s Balinese heritage
By Pei-Ru Keh Published
-
New Aesop store in Rome opens, an ode to the Eternal City
At the new Aesop Via del Corso store in Rome, architect Jakob Sprenger hosted a celebratory event with Wallpaper*, including a panel discussion chaired by contributing editor Dal Chodha
By Simon Mills Published
-
Marc Newson on his electric hydrofoil collaboration with Fliteboard
The Fliteboard x Marc Newson eFoil promises a smooth surfing experience with cutting-edge materials and space-age design
By Jonathan Bell Published