This distillery is delivering cocktails mixed by London’s best bartender

You may have gotten to the point where your idea of a good cocktail is a gin from the back of the cupboard with a dash of whatever else is lying around. Hey, there’s no judgement here – but there’s also no longer any reason to deprive yourself of a swig of the good stuff while you’re staying safe at home. One of the coolest distilleries on the planet has come up with a solution to your at-home drinking needs – and it’s for a good cause, too. 

Copenhagen’s Empirical Spirits, a distillery and ‘flavour company’ (its words), is teaming up with some of the best bartenders around the world to deliver cocktails to your door – and first up is London’s Mr Lyan, Ryan Chetiyawardana. The bartender behind Lyaness bar and Cub restaurant in London is one of the world’s most renowned mixologists, and Empirical has asked him to whip up a new concoction using its spirits that can be dispatched to homes – right now, and all around the world. 

The ES x Lyaness cocktail is a Martini-like drink that uses Empirical Spirits’ original creation Onyx as the base (a koji spirit it created especially for Lyaness when it launched) along with cold-infused pineapple and olive-brined Helena, another Empirical Spirits creation. It’s promised to be ‘tropical, savoury and zesty’.

Photoshop: Empirical Spirits

From each order, a donation will be made to the respective bartender’s charity of choice – in this instance, Mr Lyan has chosen Hospitality Action, which is fundraising to help staff in the restaurant and bar industry across the UK during the crisis. 

There’ll be a different bartender collaboration each month, and you can also order Empirical’s own concoctions, the Pony Negroni and the Bonita Applebum.  

Each bottle contains four cocktails, costs €45, and is available from Empirical Spirits’ webshop (with free shipping for orders over €100 – although the promotional code STAYSAFE should also guarantee free delivery at the moment). All you have to do is open and pour over ice – no more rooting around in the back of that cupboard. We’ll drink to that. 

Find more ways to get cocktails delivered straight to your door right now. 

And for more ways to support the London hospitality scene, read here.