Malört, Chicago’s iconic and divisive liqueur, has a new zero-proof counterpart growing in popularity at one Avondale restaurant.
Dubbed No-Lört, it’s being served at Void, 2937 N. Milwaukee Ave., which cheekily describes itself as having “successfully removed Malört’s only redeeming feature.”
And people are loving it, its creators said.
The restaurant and bar’s beverage leaders Ian Adamczyk and Pat Ray created No-Lört after about three months of tinkering with different “terrible” flavors to emulate Malört’s signature bitterness. What started out as a silly idea proved to be both fun and challenging, requiring several palate breaks, said Adamczyk, who counts himself a fan of the original Malört’s intense taste.
Void’s alcohol-free take on the astringent, wormwood-based spirit is a strong, herbal-forward drink with wormwood, hints of grapefruit and a dash of vegetable glycerin that works as a flavor fixative and preservative in the absence of alcohol, Adamczyk said.
No-Lört has been on Void’s menu since the restaurant opened last August. The restaurant recently made it available to buy in a 375-milliliter bottle for $19 — which led to a spike in purchases around the holidays, Ray said.
The drink has experienced a further uptick in popularity during Dry January and within the growing sober-curious crowd in Chicago.
Void offers shots of No-Lört. In true Chicago fashion, the restaurant also advertises a version of the Chicago Handshake, which pairs a No-Lört shot with a serving of non-alcoholic Perroni draft beer.
No-Lört’s creators insist the zero-proof drink is far from a temporary gimmick and will remain a fixture at Void, with more non-alcoholic spirits possibly on the horizon, Adamczyk said.
“No-Lört is here to stay,” he said.
