Malort

MalÖrt may be the worst thing you’ll ever taste. But Jeppson’s MalÖrt is no stunt. Known primarily for its intense bitterness—such bitterness that it has been compared to “a forest fire, if the forest was made of earwax”—it is rooted in centuries-old Swedish tradition. It’s a fluke to have ever existed in the United States and flukier still to have survived 100 years. Least likely of all: Jeppson’s MalÖrt becoming the cultural sensation it is today. Mal Ört is a story of love, relationships and how one generation finds meaning where generations before did not. Such transformations happen in art, in history, and in food, and it happened to Jeppson’s MalÖrt. Author and beer expert Josh Noel unpacks a uniquely American tale, equal parts culture, business, and personal relationships as well as secret love, federal prison, a David vs. Goliath court battle, and, ultimately, the sale of Jeppson’s MalÖrt, in 2018, to make an unlikely millionaire of Pat Gabelick, a 74-year-old Chicago woman who spent much of her life as a legal secretary. Mal Ört isn’t just the story of one brazen liquor—it is the story of modern tastes and cultural shifts.