Chicago's most notorious liqueur got its most public toast yet on Aug. 30, when 1,969 people simultaneously downed a shot of Jeppson's Malört at Recess, a bar in the city's West Loop, in a bid for a new Guinness World Records title.
The attempt, backed by Malört's distiller in partnership with event producer Everleigh Entertainment, drew more than 1,000 ticket buyers to the bar's 838 W. Kinzie St. location, with tickets priced at $10 apiece and proceeds going to Ravenswood Community Services, a North Side food pantry. Dozens of bars from California to Maryland held simultaneous "solidarity shots," though organizers said only the Chicago crowd would count toward the official record submission for "largest mass of people taking a shot of Malört at the same time" — a first-time category with Guinness.
Malört is a wormwood-based bäsk brännvin that has been distilled in the Chicago area since the 1930s, prized locally less for its taste — often described as a mix of grapefruit rind, gasoline and regret — than for its role as a rite of passage for newcomers and out-of-town visitors. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker made an appearance at the event, at one point stepping behind the bar to pour shots for the crowd himself.
"A year ago, we had a festival with about 100 people."
Franky Everleigh, event organizer
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, another attendee, offered her own theory for the liqueur's enduring popularity, describing its appeal as rooted in "the communal suffering that brings us together" — a line that captures the event's tongue-in-cheek civic pride as much as its charitable aim.
Guinness World Records typically takes several weeks to review submissions, cross-checking video evidence, witness statements and adjudicator reports before certifying a new title, so the 1,969 figure remains unofficial for now. Organizers, per Block Club Chicago's account of the night, said they expect to hear back within a couple of months and are already discussing an even larger attempt next year.
