Malört, made from Wormwood plant, is acquired taste and a bartender’s challenge.

Jeppson’s Malört, an 80-year-old, gold-colored spirit made from a Swedish recipe, is hard or impossible to find outside of Chicagoland. That may be just as well–the taste of the liquor, which is made from the Wormwood plant, has been described in terms ranging from earwax to Band-Aids to burnt hair.

But Malört is finding a growing following among Chicagoans as a kind of badge of honor. And mixologists like the challenge of making Malört’s bitter flavor somewhat enjoyable.

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