I Tried Malört Ice Cream at Chicago’s First Van Leeuwen | Eater Chicago

"At the new Wicker Park shop, I sampled a few flavors but ultimately ordered the limited-time Malört scoop—a choice that drew a surprised, approving nod from a staffer. There aren’t many ways to make Malört palatable, and the ice cream didn’t try to soften it: my first lick hit with the liqueur’s signature bitterness so intensely that any other notes were nearly impossible to detect, and every subsequent taste delivered the same overwhelming bite; aside from the waffle cone’s sweetness, nothing else came through. For better or worse, they nailed the brief—it tastes like bottles of Malört poured into vanilla ice cream—and if you love the spirit, you might manage to finish a full scoop, but everyone else is better off taking a sample, wincing as after a shot, and moving on to a safer pick like the mango sticky rice. As much as I have a certain affection for Malört in cocktails and other riffs, this leans more toward gimmick than something I’d want to eat regularly." - Jeffy Mai