Unpopular Opinion: Malört is tasty

The big picture: Malört turned 90 this year, and to celebrate, CH Distillery hosted a party last week.

Context: I love bitter things, like the bitter melon and arugula I grow in my garden. But I hated Malört the first two times I tried it.

• I only started grooving on it when I sipped it with an Old Style (as part of a Chicago Handshake) for an upcoming WTTW special I shot with Geoffrey Baer this summer.

The intrigue: Modern-day Malört is supposedly much smoother than the formulation sold before CH Distillery bought the brand in 2018.

• To get a taste of what the original drink might have tasted like, I tried some Malört my pal and Chicago Reader writer Mike Sula made from the wormwood he grows in his backyard. Sula called it "terrible" and super-bitter.
• He was not exaggerating.

Your shot: Do you like or hate Malört? Take our poll below.