Jeppson's Malört
Jeppson's · CH Distillery
Malört is not a spirit you recommend lightly — it's a rite of passage, a loyalty test, and a cultural artifact of Chicago's bar scene rolled into one defiant bottle. It does exactly one thing and does it with absolute conviction: deliver the most aggressively bitter drinking experience commercially available. Whether that's a feature or a bug depends entirely on who you are, but there's no denying its singular identity in the spirits world.
Nose
Intensely herbal and medicinal, with grapefruit pith, dandelion greens, and a sharp, almost antiseptic wormwood note that commands your full attention. Behind the bitterness sits a faint whiff of dried chamomile and something vaguely floral, though you have to work to find it. There's no hiding from the botanicals here — this nose is uncompromising.
Palate
The first sip is a confrontation. An overwhelming wave of bitter wormwood floods the palate, followed by grapefruit rind, burnt herbs, and a curious, lingering soapy quality. There's a faint sweetness mid-palate that barely registers before the bitterness reasserts itself with authority. The mouthfeel is oily and coating, ensuring the experience stays with you.
Finish
Extremely long, profoundly bitter, and herbaceous. The aftertaste has been described — accurately — as resembling pencil shavings and regret, though devotees would call it persistence and character.
Cocktail Suggestion
The Chicago Handshake — Pour 1.5 oz Jeppson's Malört into a shot glass. Serve alongside an ice-cold Old Style lager. Shoot the Malört, chase with the beer. No garnish, no apologies.
Food Pairing
Rich, fatty foods like Chicago-style deep dish pizza or a char-grilled Italian beef sandwich — the bitterness cuts through heaviness like nothing else can.
Originally produced by Swedish immigrant Carl Jeppson during Prohibition-era Chicago as a medicinal tonic, Malört survived decades of near-obscurity before becoming the city's most infamous — and beloved — local spirit, now distilled by CH Distillery on the city's West Side.
Be the first to comment.
Leave a comment
Kentucky Peerless Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey
Peerless
Kentucky Peerless represents what happens when a young distillery takes no shortcuts — sweet mash, no chill filtration, barrel proof. The result is a bourbon that's simultaneously bold and disciplined, with enough negative space between its flavors for each to land clearly.
Domaine de la Tournelle Arbois Poulsard de l'Uva Arbosiana 2021
Domaine de la Tournelle
A masterclass in restraint. Poulsard at its most transparent — a red wine that whispers rather than declares, defined as much by what's absent as by what remains.
Havana Club Selección de Maestros
Havana Club
A masterclass in editorial restraint. Where many premium rums crowd the glass with sweetness, Selección de Maestros trusts the silences — the negative space between notes is where its sophistication lives. Essential for drinkers who mistake Cuban rum for merely 'light.'
Capreolus Raspberry Eau de Vie Gin
Capreolus
Barrie Lancaster's eau de vie background shows in every sip — this is a gin that understands distillation as an act of capture, not construction. The space between the floral top notes and the woody juniper base is wide and elegant, each element articulated with rare clarity.
Capreolus Raspberry Eau de Vie Gin
Capreolus
Barrie Lancaster's eau de vie background shows in every sip — this is a gin that understands distillation as an act of capture, not construction. The space between the floral top notes and the woody juniper base is wide and elegant, each element articulated with rare clarity.
Whitley Neill Handcrafted Original Dry Gin
Whitley Neill
Johnny Neill's family recipe — drawing on four generations of distilling heritage — is a gin that doesn't chase trends. It is emphatically juniper-forward, botanically balanced, and built for versatility. The African botanicals (baobab fruit and cape gooseberry) add textural interest without pulling focus from what is, at heart, a superb classical gin at an honest price.
St. George Dry Rye Gin
St. George Spirits
A gin that dares you to sip it neat. The rye backbone gives it structural gravitas most London Drys can't touch — extraordinary in a Negroni or Martinez, where its grain character bridges vermouth and juniper into something singular.
Crossbill Highland Dry Gin
Crossbill
Crossbill is a gin that refuses to compromise on juniper. Using only Scottish juniper berries and rosehip, it delivers one of the most juniper-forward profiles available — a gin built for G&T purists and Martini devotees who want the pine to sing. It tastes like the Scottish Highlands in a glass.