Beginner
People in Chicago did something very unusual together. A big group of people took a small drink at the same time!
The drink is called Malört. It has a very strong, bitter taste. People in Chicago have made this drink since the 1930s.
A bar called Recess planned a big event. They wanted many people to drink Malört together at the exact same moment. This would set a new world record!
On a Sunday, 1,969 people came to the event. They all took a drink of Malört at the exact same time. It was a new Guinness World Record!
The event also helped other people. It raised money for a local charity.
Chicago’s governor came to the event too. He helped pour drinks for people!
Vocabulary
- unusual — not normal or common
- bitter — having a strong, sharp taste
- bar — a place where people go to buy and drink drinks
- event — something that happens, often planned
- record — the best or most extreme result ever measured
- charity — a group that helps people in need
- pour — to make a liquid flow out of a container
- together — with each other, at the same time or place
Comprehension Check
Discussion Prompts
- Do you like trying new foods or drinks?
- Have you ever done something unusual with a big group of people?
- What is a famous food or drink from your hometown?
Intermediate
Chicago is famous for many things, including deep-dish pizza, tall buildings, and now, a new Guinness World Record.
On a recent Sunday, a bar called Recess brought together 1,969 people to simultaneously drink shots of Jeppson’s Malört, a notoriously bitter local liqueur that’s been distilled in the Chicago area since the 1930s.
The gathering wasn’t just for fun. It was also a fundraiser. The event, billed as “a bad decision for a good cause,” raised money for a local charity called Ravenswood Community Services.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker even showed up to the event and spent some time behind the bar, pouring shots for the crowd.
Malört has a reputation as one of the most polarizing drinks in America. Locals often give it to visitors as a rite of passage, since its strong, bitter flavor tends to surprise first-timers. Despite that reputation, nearly 2,000 people were happy to raise a glass together for a good cause.
Vocabulary
- notoriously — in a way that is widely known, usually for something negative
- liqueur — a strong, sweet or flavored alcoholic drink
- distill — to make a strong drink by a special heating and cooling process
- fundraiser — an event held to collect money for a cause
- polarizing — causing very different, strong opinions
- rite of passage — an experience that marks an important step or tradition
- reputation — the general opinion people have about someone or something
- raise a glass — to lift a drink as a toast, often to celebrate something
Comprehension Check
Discussion Prompts
- Why do you think people enjoy events like this, even if the drink tastes bad?
- Is there a food or drink tradition in your culture that outsiders might find strange?
- Would you want to try Malört? Why or why not?
Advanced
Few beverages inspire as much local devotion (and grimacing) as Jeppson’s Malört, the notoriously bitter Chicago liqueur that recently found itself at the center of a Guinness World Record attempt.
On a Sunday afternoon, West Loop bar Recess gathered 1,969 people to simultaneously down shots of the drink that locals both love and hate, officially setting a new world record. The event, wryly billed as “a bad decision for a good cause,” doubled as a fundraiser for Ravenswood Community Services, a local nonprofit.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker made an appearance, briefly stepping behind the bar to pour shots for attendees. This showed just how embedded Malört has become in the city’s identity.
Distilled in the Chicago area since the 1930s, the wormwood-based schnapps has built its reputation less on its flavor profile than on the ritual around it. Longtime Chicagoans have made a local tradition of offering the notoriously harsh drink to unsuspecting newcomers, treating a grimace of disgust as a rite of passage into the city’s culture. The fact that this drink could bring together nearly 2,000 people for a charitable cause says a lot about civic pride, and about Chicagoans’ shared taste for something unpleasant.
Vocabulary
- grimace — a facial expression showing pain or disgust
- wryly — in a dryly humorous or ironic way
- spirit — a strong distilled alcoholic drink
- nonprofit — an organization that uses its money to help people, not to make a profit
- embedded — firmly and deeply established as part of something
- ritual — a set of actions performed as a tradition or custom
- unsuspecting — not aware that something is about to happen
- civic pride — a sense of pride in one’s own city or community
Comprehension Check
Discussion Prompts
- What role do “shared discomfort” traditions play in building community identity?
- How does local pride sometimes turn something unpleasant into a point of celebration?
- Can you think of similar traditions in other cities or cultures where a divisive local specialty becomes a badge of belonging?
Original story: “Nearly 2,000 people down shots of Malört to set world record” by Ben Hooper, UPI (September 1, 2026).
Photo: “Malort at Fatty Crab” by Fuzzy Gerdes, Flickr (CC BY 2.0), cropped.