Doritos (Frito-Lay) and Empirical, a flavor company, has launched Empirical x Doritos Nacho Cheese Spirit. This limited release offers a multi-sensorial beverage experience that smells and tastes like the real thing.
“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. “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.”
The partnership marks a first-of-a-kind innovation for both brands. To create the flavor, the many flavor layers of Doritos Nacho Cheese are extracted through Empirical's production process, using real Doritos chips and retaining their essence through vacuum distillation. Unlike traditional distillation methods, vacuum distillation operates at lower temperatures, preserving the full spectrum of flavors derived from Doritos.
Limited-edition bottles of Empirical x Doritos Nacho Cheese Spirit will be available in January for a suggested retail price of $65.00 (42% ABV, 750 milliliters) online and in select New York and California markets.
Other brands are innovating existing products and entering the alcohol category, such as Hard Mtn Dew from The Boston Beer Co. and PepsiCo, which came out in 2022.
The beverage has 5% alcohol by volume (ABV) and comes in four flavors: Original, Livewire Orange, Watermelon and Baja Blast. Hard Mtn Dew will has no caffeine or sugar, a Boston Beer Co. spokesperson said.
A Hard Mtn Dew Baja Blast Variety 12-pack was also released in 2023 as a limited-edition summertime offering. It included the original tropical lime-flavored Baja Blast and three new flavors: Baja Blast Pineapple, Baja Blast Mango and Baja Blast Punch.
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