Originally created by Carl Jeppson, a Swedish immigrant living in Chicago, Malört was intended to mimic besk brännvin, a style of particularly bitter wormwood-based schnapps particularly popular in Sweden, as a “medicinal alcohol” sold during Prohibition. After Prohibition, Jeppson sold the company to George Brode, a lawyer who also ran Bielzoff Products, later known as Red Horse Products. When the last distillery closed in Chicago in 1986, Brode moved production to Kentucky for a few years and then to Florida. After his death in 1999, the company went to his legal secretary, Patricia Gabelick, who continued to run production out of Florida.

That changed in 2018. CH Distillery, best known for making CH Vodka, purchased the company, acquiring the secret recipe and bringing it back home to Chicago. They also expanded the line to include Jeppson’s Bourbon. CH Distillery picked up 550 barrels of bourbon produced by Indiana’s MGP and Kentucky’s O.Z. Tyler distilleries. The barrels sat and developed for over four years before being bottled non-chill filtered at 100 proof, giving some of the bigger guys competition on the shelves.

The nose is deep with oiled leather, perfumed oak, freshly baked pecan pie, and tons of plump, sweetened dark fruits with a whiff of smoke.

The palate is rich and viscous right away. Chewy caramel, butterscotch, Derby pie, mature and slightly dusty oak, coffee, dried cherry, strawberry, and complex spices nipping at the sides of the mouth.

The finish is long and continually developing, filled with heavy charred oak, toasted coconut, vanilla bean, tobacco, and oiled leather.