The Face of Malort: An Interview with Katey “Bunny” Rafanello
It’s a Jeppson’s Malört world, and we’re all just living in it.
To be fair, that’s probably a stretch. Chicago’s bitter, wormwood-flavored liqueur isn’t exactly omnipresent. But it’s certainly on a hot streak, powered by an extremely vocal fan base and more than a few viral moments. The brand itself has capitalized on that increased visibility, upping production and releasing new barrel-aged and Islay Scotch finished expressions. The polarizing spirit has also spawned at least one tell-all book diving into its history, which our own Jacob Kiper reviewed in depth. (Trust us: Both review and book itself are worth your time.)
Yes, it’s clear the internet loves (or loves to hate) Malört. That’s powered by endless user-generated recipes and a self-effacing social media presence. But Malört’s grassroots growth is also powered by another force entirely: Katey “Bunny” Rafanello.
Rafanello is a lifetime spirits pro who joined CH Distillery around 2016, immediately donning multiple hats and becoming a recognizable ambassador. Two years later, CH acquired Jeppson’s Malört, and Rafanello quickly became an undeniable face of the brand. As Malört’s lore has grown, so has Rafanello’s. Today, she appears everywhere from the official website to the side trucks delivering cases to thirsty, puckering patrons.
We recently sat down with Rafanello to talk about the growth and future of Malört — and what it’s like to become so linked with a unique and irreverent brand.
Note: This interview has been edited for clarity.
Drinkhacker: Give us a little bit of your background in the spirits industry and the short version on how you got to where you are today.
Rafanello: I’ve been in this role for 10 years. I’ve been in the industry my whole life. The short version is that my mom had a restaurant in Old Town in Chicago at Wells and Institute in the ’80s, so I’ve kind of been around this vibe for a really, really long time. Always working front of house, sometimes back of house: cooking, serving, bartending. I’ve just been around it. I can’t seem to escape it.
I mean, I don’t want to give up the people. That’s the main thing for me. The culture of this industry is just the most fun.
Drinkhacker: When you started in your current role a decade ago, did you have any particular goals or aspirations you were really focused on?
Rafanello: Well, I came to CH Distillery kind of by accident. I had a friend who was working as the general manager at our Randolph Street location in the West Loop. I had my own company at the time. I was cooking privately for people in their homes and also doing some offsite big-event catering. She said, “Can you help me do this? I need help with private events at this space. We’ve got a great space, awesome product.”
I went down there and never left. I’ve played a lot of roles at CH and now Jeppson’s. I’ve served, bartended, done events, cooked sometimes when we were between chefs, did lots of brand ambassador work. When we first bought Jeppson’s [in 2018], they sent me to Tales of the Cocktail on my own, which was a trip.
From there, I joined the sales team and I’ve been there ever since. In hindsight, I think I did want the role I have right now, not directly, not like, “This is exactly what I want to do,” but I felt myself moving in that direction.
Drinkhacker: What was your first reaction when you learned that CH was going to acquire Jeppson’s?
Rafanello: I thought, “This is going to be a lot of fun. I better stick around.” I knew what Malört was before we bought it, and some of the people we worked with maybe didn’t, but I knew it was kind of the bad boy. I definitely wanted to see how this adventure would unfold.
Drinkhacker: Did you ever anticipate Malört’s renaissance over the last few years?
Rafanello: Oh, I would say so, yeah. It’s definitely had a resurgence. There’s no doubt.
But I was a little hesitant about the brand’s potential. I thought, “Is this really going to become a thing? A big thing?” In the beginning, when we first acquired it, there were days we had 10 cases on the truck per day, and that felt like, “Oh my gosh, we are inching toward something.” Certainly that’s not the amount on the truck these days, and we’re pretty proud of that.
There are so many factors in that. Social media, obviously our fabulous marketing team — a lot went into building this resurgence. Also, it being such a source of pride for Chicagoans. Being hyper-regional did not hurt us at all.
Drinkhacker: Has anything surprised you about the brand’s evolution over the last eight years?
Rafanello: I feel like there’s a kismet around it. Magical things happen. I know that might sound funny, but the Bears, the Pope. Those things didn’t hurt us at all. There were some really fun moments.
I remember our social media team shared something with me where Drake said, “I can’t believe they drink this here,” or “This is terrible,” something like that. The backlash from Chicagoans was incredible. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. We don’t just drink it, we love it.” Little things like that turned into really big moments and got lots of attention.
Drinkhacker: You’ve become associated with Malört and Malört has become associated with you. How has that changed your outlook on the spirits industry, hospitality, and your role in it?
Rafanello: Having been around for a long time and being the oldest one working around the city for so long, I just feel like this is such a relationships business. I hate to say it, but I’m a pretty good time. I went out for about 30 years straight every night, like we do as industry people. I love making friends and having a good time.
When I found out my face was going on the truck, I laughed so hard, and so did all my friends I’ve worked with over the years. They immediately started sending me pictures. I’d say, “You can’t get away from me now. I’ll find you.”
This industry has a big sense of humor, and I think I notice that even more because of the truck. It’s serious business, but Malört is pretty fun, and people have accepted that. I guess it reminds all my accounts to call me when they see my face.
Drinkhacker: Have there been any surprising use cases for the product that stick in your head?
Rafanello: We just had something go viral from a woman at our distributor partner. She made a snow cone with Malört. Seeing the reaction to that was so fun.
Obviously, the Bears hot chocolate cocktail on the news recently was a really big deal for us. But I feel like the fabulous mixologists in our city come up with really cool stuff. They make some great-tasting Malört cocktails, if you can believe that. They also make some really challenging ones.
The folks at Nisei Lounge are notorious infusion makers. Pat and Lou and their crowd over there. Everybody wants to be in the news with Malört, and I love that. We get to see crazy stuff all the time.
That’s what makes it so fun. It doesn’t even feel like our brand anymore. I’s the people’s brand. They bring different things to the table with it. For such an obscure product to become such a phenomenon is hilarious to me.
It’s always going to be a source of conversation and camaraderie. It’s such a social brand. Watching the industry change through COVID, we realized it’s really an in-person drink. I was shocked during COVID when people were at home buying tons of Malört and drinking it by themselves. That surprised me because it’s really something you want to pay forward to your friend or share with others. It’s contagious. Once one person has it at the bar, everybody has it at the bar.
There’s always going to be somebody having their first Malört, and it’s endlessly funny. I never get tired of it. There will always be people turning 21 and having their first shot of Malört. There will always be visitors to Chicago, and there will always be people proud to bring Malört wherever they go.
I think it’s going to become even more popular for people to make videos of themselves and share them with the world. I think that’s just going to keep growing.
As for me, I’m just going to hang in there as long as I can keep drinking a lot of Malört. Until I can’t drink Malört anymore, which probably won’t happen.
The post The Face of Malort: An Interview with Katey “Bunny” Rafanello appeared first on Drinkhacker: The Insider’s Guide to Good Drinking.