EmpiricalAyuuk(500mL)

<p>A Spirit with all the fruity smokiness of Pasilla Mixe chili peppers and just a touch of that chili heat.</p><p><em>Lars Williams & Mark Emil Hermansen</em> are an interesting pair. These guys from Copenhagen, Denmark, are all about capturing precious memories and experiences. As we all know,<em> smell & taste </em>are powerful in that regard. Founded in 2017, Empirical aims to take advantage of that with their<em> unique (and sometimes wacky!) Spirits</em> that are meant to conjure the best of times. They go about it with custom-built machinery as well as unusual fermentation and distillation techniques. And plenty of that good old blood & sweat.</p><p>The Empirical guys visited the <em>Sierra Norte mountains</em> in Oaxaca, Mexico, in 2019. The endemic ― and generally quite rare ― chili peppers called Pasilla Mixe immediately caught their attention with its super interesting and complex aroma and taste. <em>Smoky, earthy, and fruity,</em> they turned out to be just what Williams was looking for in a distillation project. Named after the Mixe people (Ayuuk in their native tongue), the peppers get macerated in their <em>kōji-based Helena,</em> a double fermented clear Spirit. Afterwards, the blend gets a period of rest in <em>Sherry casks</em> before being bottled at 86 proof. </p>