COPENHAGEN, Denmark— Empirical, a flavor company revolutionizing spirits with its unprecedented approach, unveils its latest distillate, SOKA, one of the first spirits distilled in the U.S. from American sorghum cane juice and syrup. SOKA (750ml/43% ABV/SRP $50) will be available for purchase worldwide on June 15, 2022 via Empirical’s website, empirical.co. It has already been embraced by the vanguard of the craft cocktail world.
SOKA is the latest creation of Empirical, the Copenhagen-based company co-founded by Lars Williams and Mark Emil Hermansen. The duo share a view of flavor as a prime vessel for connecting people and creating conviviality, with alcohol as a carrier of flavor. Their spirits, which are crafted with flavor as their only guiding principle, transcend existing spirits categories and democratize the hard work and innovation at the height of the culinary world by impacting thousands of consumers. The two flavor visionaries first met and collaborated at the acclaimed Noma and Nordic Food Lab.
SOKA, a contraction of the words “sorghum” and “cane,” is distilled from sorghum cane sourced from small farms in Kentucky and Wisconsin. The spirit is highly versatile and shines in cocktails ranging from classic stirred drinks to exuberant tropical quaffs. SOKA captures the sense memory of walking through a fragrant field, with notes of fresh cut grass, sorrel, green Galia apple and farm aromas.
Chef/Distiller Lars Williams on SOKA and Sorghum
“Sorghum is as American as apple pie and was the leading sweetener in the U.S. Historically, sorghum grains have been fermented and distilled, but using the sugar-rich canes largely faded away. With SOKA, we are looking back to go forward. We work with a small-scale farmer in Wisconsin who improvised a way to harvest and press the cane while still in the sorghum fields. We have the juice in our fermentation tanks in about an hour, so we are able to capture all of the fresh notes. SOKA, which was conceived of and extensively tested in Copenhagen, is the first spirit we are proudly crafting in the U.S. Truly, the possibilities of SOKA are endless, just like sorghum.”
To preserve the esters and silage undertones, SOKA is vacuum distilled from the fermentations of the freshly pressed juice of Wisconsin sorghum cane and Kentucky sorghum cane syrup, each bringing their own unique terroir. The juice is ebullient with very green, springy flavors of melon, cucumber and green apple, while the syrup contributes darker aromas of fall, notably hay and toasted honey notes. Thai Rice Chong Yeast used during fermentation accentuates the fruity notes of the spirit. Secondary fermentations contribute notes of fermented grass and a touch of brininess, bridging the two distillates.
“At Empirical, we are constantly scouring the globe for sources of flavor that are delicious, have a great story and leave the world a better place. Sorghum ticks all of the boxes and is truly a hero plant. It is one of the first crops that has followed humanity from time immemorial, growing on most continents with little need of fertilizers and demonstrating excellent drought resistance. Moreover, it actually improves the soil’s quality by contributing nitrogen. We are excited by SOKA’s potential as a sipping spirit and cocktail ingredient that has already captured the imaginations of top bartenders. Equally important, it is a means of raising awareness of this incredible eco-positive crop and connecting people with the landscape.”
The following recipes were created by Master Mixologist Iain Griffiths of Trash Tiki:
Baltra Martini #1
1.5 oz SOKA
0.5 oz The Plum, I Suppose
0.3 oz bay dry vermouth*
2 drops absinthe
2 dashes orange bitters
Stir over ice, strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lime coin.
*Bay Dry Vermouth
Dolin or Noilly infused with 6 to 8 bay leaves for 24 hours at room temperature.
Super SOKA
2 oz SOKA
0.5 oz lime juice
0.5 oz bay simple syrup
Build in a highball glass over crushed ice and garnish with a lime wheel.
So Iconic
1.5 oz SOKA
3 oz Fever-Tree Tonic
Build in a highball glass over ice and garnish with three peach slices.
Sokalada
1.5 oz SOKA
1 oz nigori sake
1 oz coconut syrup
0.5 oz lime juice
6 celementine/mandarin orange segments
3 dashes Angostura Bitters
Blend with ice and strain into a rocks glass.
Grasshopper
2 oz SOKA
0.6 oz coconut syrup
0.6 oz cream
0.3 oz crème de menthe
Blend with ice and pour into a lowball glass.
Lazy Daisy
1.5 oz SOKA
0.25 oz white port
0.25 oz Yellow Chartreuse
0.5 oz lime juice
4-6 mint leaves
Build in a rocks glass over crushed ice and garnish with a sexy mint bush.
With a team of iconoclasts from 15 countries, Empirical is creating “free-form” spirits with flavor as their sole guiding principle. They are charting a new path for the possibilities of spirits and flavor. SOKA joins Empirical’s core expressions that include Ayuuk, which shares the flavors of Mexico’s Sierra Norte Mountains using smoky Pasilla Mixe chilies. It is joined by The Plum, I Suppose, which captures the marzipan aroma of a Frangipane Tart, with plum kernels and marigold kombucha recreating the notes of plum fruit. Empirical also fields three sparkling ready-to-drink canned expressions: CAN 01 (oolong tea, toasted birch and green gooseberry); CAN 02 (sour cherry, black currant buds, young pine cones and walnut wood); and CAN 03 (carob, fig leaf and lemon myrtle).
About Empirical
Headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, Empirical is a flavor company founded in 2017 by Lars Williams and Mark Emil Hermansen. The two deep-thinking visionaries are inspired by the role flavor plays in their ability to create and transport experiences. The company does things its own way, having custom-built machinery, developed hybrid fermentation techniques, augmented low-temperature distillation and traveled globally to source the highest quality ingredients. Taking a flavor-first approach means that Empirical does not pay attention to the conventional categories that traditionalists often want to cast its creations into. The result is something that is democratic, shareable and driven by the journey of creating unique and unexpected flavors. Empirical is writing a playbook that does not exist—one distillation, one spirit and one flavor at a time. For more information, please visit empirical.co, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @empiricalcph and on YouTube.
Empirical, a flavor company revolutionizing spirits with its unprecedented approach, unveils SOKA. Distilled from fresh American sorghum cane juice and sorghum syrup, SOKA is now available for purchase via Empirical’s website (750ml/43% ABV/SRP $50).
Empirical was founded by Lars Williams (Chef/Distiller) and Mark Emil Hermansen (CEO & Oxford-trained Social Anthropologist), two alums of the world acclaimed Noma restaurant and Nordic Food Lab in Copenhagen. Please see below for highlights and our announcement press release.
- A Pioneering Spirit Captures the Terroirs of the American Heartland
- SOKA breaks new ground by being distilled from fresh Wisconsin sorghum juice and Kentucky sorghum syrup, each contributing unique terroirs of the American heartland
- Vacuum distillation preserves delicate esters and silage undertones
- Captures the sense memory of walking through a fragrant field, with notes of fresh cut grass, sorrel, green Galia apple and farm aromas
- Spotlighting an Eco-Friendly, Hero Crop: Sorghum
- One of the first crops ever domesticated
- Grows on most continents with little need of fertilizers and demonstrates excellent drought resistance
- Improves the soil’s quality by contributing nitrogen
- Eminently Versatile for Cocktails and Embraced by Top Bartenders
- Offers unparalleled cocktail versatility and adopted by the vanguard of the craft cocktail world, including Meaghan Dorman (Dear Irving), Jeff Bell (PDT), GN Chan (Double Chicken Please), Harrison Ginsberg (Overstory), Iain Griffiths (Trash Tiki) and others
- In the Pursuit of Flavor; Democratized for Consumers
- Lars and Mark Emil share a view of flavor as a prime vessel for connecting people and creating conviviality, with alcohol as a carrier of flavor
- Their spirits, which are crafted with flavor as their only guiding principle, transcend existing categories and democratize the hard work and innovation at the height of the culinary world.
For More Information:
https://empirical.co/