Book Review: Malort: The Redemption of a Revered & Reviled Spirit

Jeppson’s Malört. Do I have your attention? Did you find yourself having a reaction to the mere mention of Jeppson’s Malört? Did you feel it in your body? Did your face automatically grimace in the fashion of what is disaffectionately known as “Malört Face”? Whether you identify with anything just referenced or have no clue what I’m talking about, I’ve got a book for you! In September 2024, Josh Noel and Chicago Review Press are releasing Malört: The Redemption of a Revered & Reviled Spirit.

If you’ve ever experienced Jeppson’s Malört, chances are you’ve had a strong reaction to it. It seems highly implausible to taste Malört and not have some type of reaction. It’s doubtful that you will taste Malört and feel “meh” about it. The Chicago icon is intentionally polarizing and enigmatic. Very few have ever accused Malört of being a culinary delight, including the brand itself. In this new book, Josh Noel tells the origin story of Malört up to the present day. You love Malört. You hate Malört. You love to hate Malört. This is a true story that you’ll want to experience.

What exactly is Malört? Carl Jeppson was a Swedish immigrant who created a bask liqueur, which is a type of brannvin flavored with anise or wormwood. Jeppson’s bask was created with wormwood. To be clear, Malört is not a style of liqueur, but a specific brand of a bask liqueur. In the Swedish language, Malört translates literally as moth herb and is the Swedish word for wormwood. Yes, the same wormwood that is used to produce absinthe. At one point, Jeppson’s Malört was tested for levels of thujone and was comfortably below the legally allowable levels. Malört does not bring psychedelic properties, but certainly brings an intense bitterness that is just as memorable.

Jeppson’s Malört dates back to the 1930s in Chicago. History tells us that Carl Jeppson was a very real person that created the recipe, but the brand took off under leadership of George Brode and eventually his lover and ultimately the brand’s owner, Pat Gabelick. Early in the legacy of Malört, Brode never pretended that his liqueur was delicious. Brode was well-aware that his spirit was intensely bitter and he marketed it as such. Early marketing campaigns depict Jeppson’s Malört as a manly man’s drink. The Chicago icon was pushed as a symbol of masculinity and definitely not intended for those falling short of peak manhood. Without doubt, if Brode’s marketing campaign and language were employed in modern times, there would be a massive amount of political and social backlash, but Brode was also operating in a different era. Modern Malört marketing has largely dropped the blatant sexism, but most would still consider the strategy to be lacking in political correctness. However, that lack of political correctness is also what makes Jeppson’s so endearing to fans.

George Brode was the early brains behind Jeppson’s Malört, but the path of the bitter liqueur would also be greatly shaped by the hiring of Pat Gabelick in 1966. Pat was hired as Brode’s secretary, but would soon come to be his long-time lover. She found many of Brode’s business practices to be silly, but supported his efforts to run the company. When George died in 1999, the company was left to Pat. At the time of Brode’s death, Jeppson’s Malört was far from the icon that it is today, but that would all change under Gabelick. When Pat inherited the company, sales were struggling. Malört’s sales were largely relegated to immigrant-heavy areas of Chicago and the blue collar crowd. While the brand was known in small circles, it was still more than a decade away from achieving the cult status it enjoys today.

Following Brode’s death, a couple of local media sources ran articles on Jeppson’s Malört due to the fact that it didn’t taste good, yet small pockets of Chicagoans loved it. The media was interested in the fact that something so bad could also have a loyal following. The rise of local cocktail culture paired with the “eat local” trend led to prominent dive bars challenging themselves to feature Malört. Malört was becoming cool because it was so off the wall. Pat Gebelick didn’t understand the growing status of Malört, as she personally didn’t like it herself. Despite this, fans jumped on it. Early forms of social media created unofficial accounts dedicated to Jeppson’s Malört and its bitter nature. Some of these early fans ended up being official volunteers for Jeppson’s Malört, such as Sam Mechling and Chris Depa. As a result of a floundering brand fighting for survival, Depa and Mechling worked as volunteers without pay. Mechling is responsible for the shock marketing campaigns that have come to be associated with Malört while Depa is largely responsible for the web presence of the brand. Pat largely resisted their efforts at first as she simply did not understand their necessity. However, Depa and Mechling helped put Malört on the path to what the brand is today.

Malört was made in Chicago until the mid-1970s when the Mar-Salle company shuttered. By the fall of 1987, two batches were produced at the Medley Distillery in Owensboro, KY (now Green River). Post-Medley, production moved to Florida Distillers. While the popularity of Malört continued to surge in Chicago, the liqueur had not been made in Chicago for decades. In 2018, an aging Pat Gabelick sold the brand to DH Distillery in Chicago, and in 2019, Jeppson’s Malört’s production came home to its native Chicago. Under ownership of CH Distillery, Malört finally began wider distribution outside of Chicago.

Malört is as fascinating a story as its namesake liquid. It’s rare to see a spirit be celebrated and adored as it accumulates a museum of “worst liquor on Earth” awards. Noel’s book is filled with all of the marketing pitches and slogans that have made Jeppson’s Malört what it is. The author does a masterful job of detailing how a terribly bitter liqueur rose to rockstar status. The pages are filled with an extremely detailed history while simultaneously entertaining the reader. If you’re a lover of spirits, Josh Noel’s book is an essential read for 2024 as it will lead you to more deeply appreciate the assault on tastebuds that is Jeppson’s Malört.

A / $20 / [BUY IT NOW FROM AMAZON]

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