Van Leeuwen to Launch Shocking Malört Ice Cream in Chicago

If you’ve lived in Illinois long enough, you’ve probably heard whispers about or tried the legendary (and infamous) Malört liquor.

What if I told you that Malört's signature flavor will soon be coming in ice cream form? Will you be brave enough to take a taste?

What Is Malört?

If you don't know what Malört is, consider yourself lucky.

Malört describes itself as a "traditional wormwood-based digestif - has been thought of as a rite of passage or a hangover cure. For many Chicagoans, Malört is the drink that has defined the Chicago bar experience", but I can describe it with just one word: nasty.

In fact, Malört is so nasty, that my family uses it as initiation for any guest who comes to stay at our family cabin for the first time. "You want to sleep here tonight? Cool, take a shot of Malört before we show you to your room."

I fully understand that some people truly enjoy Malört, but even Malört recognizes their liquor tastes like a dirty armpit. This is literally what their Facebook says:

It's safe to say that Malört should never be anything other than it is, but its signature "flavor" still pops up in the weirdest of places.

Van Leeuwen Malört Ice Cream

Remember last year when Malört offered hard candies or when they sold a pumpkin spice-flavored Malört? Well, hold onto your tastebuds because things are getting even crazier than that:

In case you haven't heard, Van Leeuwen, the wildly popular ice cream brand is opening its first Midwest scoop shop in Chicago's Wicker Park on September 12, and one of the ways they're celebrating their arrival is with $1 scoops from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on opening day, and with a limited-edition Malört ice cream.

Tremaine Atkinson, CEO of CH Distillery, owner and producer of Jeppson's Malört, told TimeOut:

We’re so excited to welcome Van Leeuwen to Chicago the best way we know how—with Malört! We’re honored to bring our two brands together to give Van Leeuwen a true Chicago welcome in ice cream form. It’s a bold treat, and we can’t wait for Chicagoans to try a scoop.

No one has said what this Malört ice cream tastes like, but many people say Malört liquor tastes like grapefruit or what it would be like to lick an ashtray so...do you think Van Leeuwen will give us the option to dump a bunch of candy and chocolate sauce on top of that ice cream? That may be the only way I'd be willing to try it.

What about you?