Jeppson's Malort

Jeppson's Malört is a Swedish-style bäskbrännvin distilled in Chicago, built around wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) as its dominant botanical and bottled at 70 proof without aging or filtration. The name Malört is the Swedish word for wormwood, and the formula has remained unchanged since Carl Jeppson, a Swedish immigrant, began production in the 1920s during Prohibition, marketing the spirit as a medicinal tonic for stomach ailments rather than a recreational drink. Federal agents repeatedly concluded that no one would consume Malört for pleasure, a verdict that inadvertently granted Jeppson legal permission to produce it throughout the 1920s, and that uncompromising character has made the bottle a rite of passage in Chicago's drinking culture for nearly a century. Carl Jeppson formulated his bäskbrännvin with the express purpose of selling it as a remedy for stomach worms and intestinal parasites, leaning into the wormwood profile without the sweetness or herbal balance found in most modern amari. Bäskbrännvin translates roughly to "bitter brandy," a category of traditional Swedish bitters that rely on wormwood as the foundation, and Jeppson's recipe follows that blueprint using a neutral grain base infused with wormwood and other undisclosed bittering agents. The spirit is produced in Chicago under license by CH Distillery, maintaining the original formulation that has defined the city's most notorious spirit for nearly a hundred years. No aging or post-distillation softening occurs—the liquid is bottled as infused, preserving the full force of the wormwood character. The flavor is unrelentingly bitter, opening with a sharp grapefruit-pith attack followed by medicinal wormwood, burnt rubber, and a finish that lingers like a scolding. There is no sweetness to soften the impact, no fruit or spice to offer relief. Malört is traditionally served as a shot alongside a beer back, consumed as a gesture of camaraderie or initiation rather than for pleasure—it pairs with exactly nothing because its purpose is confrontation, not harmony. Some Chicago bartenders use it in minute quantities to add bitterness to cocktails, though the line between accent and punishment is thin, and the shared experience of enduring something deliberately unpleasant remains the bottle's primary function in the city's bars. Jeppson's Malört is available for pickup at Off Premise Chicago, 1128 W Armitage Ave in Lincoln Park, with local delivery throughout Chicago and nationwide shipping.