We first encountered Malort on Jack Miller’s yacht as his traditional birthday toast. It was almost a dare to drink it. Here’s how VinePair describes the flavor.
“When describing the taste of Jeppson’s Malört, Chicago’s infamous wormwood-based liqueur, people tend to get creative. A cursory glance of various Reddit subs like r/bartenders and r/Chicago reveal some solid attempts: Notes of Fresca, paint thinner, and sadness; Week-old grapefruit rinds soaked in floodwater and shame; Gasoline filtered through a week-old garbage bag; Imagine if your parents’ divorce had a flavor. The spirit is famously gnarly, and has been “enjoyed” almost exclusively in the domain of the Chicago bar scene, where it’s existed as a rite of passage for dive bar denizens and as a reliable and irreverent bartender’s handshake. But in recent years, Malört has slowly crept out of the Chicagoland area, emerging on back bars nationwide as an “IYKYK” novelty item and even appearing in bona fide cocktails.”
So there you go! Drink up and cheers!
- Jet Cannon