🥃 Malört

Malört, full name Jeppson's Malört, is an American bitter liqueur made from wormwood in Chicago. In Swedish, malört means “wormwood”. It is bottled at 35% ABV, and the taste is so bitter that it has become a Chicago joke. Since 2018 the brand has belonged to CH Distillery, a Chicago company based in the Pilsen neighborhood.

History. Carl Jeppson, a Swedish emigrant from Ystad, brought the bäsk brännvin tradition to Chicago: a spirit infused with wormwood. According to the brand, in the 1920s he sold the bitter infusion as a “medicinal” remedy, and Malört in its present form was first released in 1933, when Prohibition ended. Sources give different years for his arrival. In the mid-1930s the recipe was bought by Bielzoff Products, and in 1945 George Brode acquired that company. Production later moved out of Chicago to Kentucky and then to Florida.

How it is made. The main ingredient is wormwood; the full recipe is not disclosed. According to VinePair, the wormwood is supplied by a producer in northern Europe. From 1945 a sprig of wormwood was placed in each bottle, but by the late 1980s this had become too expensive. In 2018 CH Distillery bought the brand from Patricia Gabelick, and Mental Floss reports that the recipe was rebuilt from scratch and the yellow dye was dropped.

Place in culture. In the 2000s the drink gained a reputation as a “challenge”: photos of the grimace after a sip, the “Malört face”, spread online. According to VinePair, in 2024 it was sold in 33 states, and 37% of sales came from outside Illinois.

Why this matters to you. The label says liqueur, yet a European liqueur must contain at least 100 g/l of sugar, and the brand does not state how much sugar Malört has. So do not compare it directly with EU liqueurs. Go by the 35% ABV figure, not by legends about “healing” properties: this is an alcoholic drink. The WHO reminds us that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.