New Malört variety tastes of Anti-Hero IPA

Two iconic Chicago’s alcohol brands, Jeppson’s Malört and Revolution Brewing, have announced a special collaboration.

The makers of Malört, CH Distillery, have taken kegs used to brew Revolution’s top-selling Anti-Hero IPA to distill a special batch of Malört that gives the liquor some of the beer’s characteristics. AntiHero Malört is available at chdistillery.com.

The variant Malört, which offers a bit of a hoppy bouquet, also is available for Grubhub delivery or curbside pickup at Revolution’s Logan Square brewpub.

Revolution Brewing is Chicago’s topselling craft beer sold at stores in Illinois. Malört is Chicago’s legendary spirit made popular at dive bars and primarily is consumed as a shot.

The bitter taste either allures or repels. Drinkers pick a side. It’s just like rooting for the Cubs or White Sox — there’s no middle ground.

Malört’s grapefruit taste should meld together with Anti-Hero’s own bitterness in the collaboration. The ABV, at 35 percent, remains the same as the original. The bottles retail for $25.

Revolution and CH Distillery are also tying a charity component to the new product, donating $5,000 each to a fundraiser benefitting hospitality members who have been affected by COVID-19. Support Staff, a charity founded by Chicago bartenders, has established the Comp Tab Relief Fund. The fund has raised more than $21,000.

The new Malört will also be available at Binny’s liquor stores, but buyers should take caution. The 750 ml bottles, color of the liquor, and main body label are the same as original Malört. The only visible different is a sticker on the neck feature Revolution’s label, so keep an eye for that. This initial batch of Anti-Hero Malört will be 1,300 bottles yielded from 160 beer kegs.

Malört has done some special one-offs with other breweries but hasn’t bottled them. Since CH Distillery purchased Jeppson’s Malört in 2018, they’ve made travel-sized Malört bottles, branded hand sanitizer, and a Jeppson’s-branded bourbon.