M’lady, Malört: The Rite of the Barback

There is no valley deeper than the one separating Malört haters from its devoted cult of robust night owls. Despite its infamously unpalatable flavor profile, the wormwood-infused Chicago digestif has become a ritualistic staple behind the bar in Indianapolis nightlife. 

Invented by Swedish immigrant Carl Jeppson in the 1920s, Malört was originally sold as medicinal bitters to sidestep Prohibition regulations. That legacy has continued with regulars using it as a hangover cure, and has developed a reputation as a prank for out-of-towners and unsuspecting patrons.

Drag performer and producer Sadah Robinson sees Malört scrunch faces on both sides of the bar in their role as barback. First blindsided by it while working at Kuma’s Corner in Fountain Square, Robinson likens the taste to a figurative can of Popeye’s spinach: “It feels like a swift chest punch from a friend or a nip to the chin going down, giving you the wherewithal to fight any man that crosses you.” 

In Broad Ripple, bartender Ariya Marr is known as “Lady Malört” at The Quarter for her Oktoberfest shenanigans in which she handed out “I Malörted” stickers to those who accepted the challenge of throwing back shots of resinous burnt rubber. “By the end of the night,” Marr says, “people at the bar were finding innocent patrons to indoctrinate, walking them to the bar, and everyone cheering when they did their shot. I must have gone through three or four bottles, and everyone had a shared experience that made me so happy.”

For industry people like Robinson and Marr, Malört isn’t just a prank. It’s a rite of passage into a mutual bond that unifies both sides of the bar. Robinson says, “If that bottle could speak—that is something that industry folks have all been offered. When we get a chance to introduce it to someone new, the room lights up.”