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* Hospitality Business Association of Chicago…
The Hospitality Association routinely reviews investigatory reports of local and state beverage alcohol regulators to help educate our members in avoiding common violations.
So please take note that in Illinois retailers can not infuse spirits with cicadas for retail sale. pic.twitter.com/buHFDPYyL2
— Chicago Hospitality (@HBAChicago) August 7, 2024
The state has fined a suburban brewery an undisclosed amount after they served a special infusion of Jeppson’s Malört with cicadas, celebrating the insects’ 2024 emergence. Noon Whistle Brewing Co. in Lombard made headlines in May for combining Chicago’s infamous liquor with bugs foraged from a neighboring park.
The Illinois Liquor Control Commission’s March report includes a blurb that does not mention Noon Whistle, but it refers to a licensee selling an infusion containing cicadas: “The licensee was cited for the violation and was provided education on the issue.” A message to an ILCC rep wasn’t immediately returned. Noon Whistle’s co-founder Mike Condon confirmed the fine over email and wrote he preferred not to share more info.
In May, Noon Whistle compared its cicada-infused malört to tequilas bottles with worms. They charged $5 per shot, and it was available for a limited time. Malört infusions are all the rage, as neighborhood bars are mixing ingredients like pumpkin spice and candy cane into the liquor. Even outside of Chicago, bartenders are unveiling sinister concoctions with the bitter spirit. The liquor is so storied that former Chicago Tribune beer writer Josh Noel has written a book, Malort: The Redemption of a Revered & Reviled Spirit, that will be released on September 3.
Local authorities have long held concerns about spirit infusions made at taverns and restaurants, worried that bartenders would ignore the science and allow bacteria to grow while waiting for flavors to develop. Plenty has changed over the years in terms of information available to the general public. For example, the Illinois Liquor Control Act of 1934 wasn’t written to take into account homebrewers; the Internet has helped better educate folks. The act does include a 14-day limit for infusions and bottles have to be clearly labeled with the start and end dates and listed the ingredients used. The state law also defines infusions as using “ingredients, including, but not limited to, fruits, spices, or nuts, are added to naturally infuse flavor into the spirit.”
I’ve reached out to the Liquor Control Commission for more information. I’ll let you all know if I hear back.
posted by Isabel Miller
Friday, Aug 9, 24 @ 11:57 am
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Lame. All so some bureaucrat gets to do an epic funny on Twitter.
I thought this was America. Drink the cicadas.
Comment by Alton Sinkhole Friday, Aug 9, 24 @ 12:08 pm
It’s not like adding cicadas makes Malort taste any better.
Comment by 47th Ward Friday, Aug 9, 24 @ 12:26 pm
=== and allow bacteria to grow while waiting for flavors to develop.===
What self respecting bacteria would grow in Malort?
Comment by Da big bad wolf Friday, Aug 9, 24 @ 12:31 pm
Hell adding the Cicadias might make it taste better, not sure it could taste worse.
Comment by Mason born Friday, Aug 9, 24 @ 12:41 pm
It should also violate the Illinois “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should” law.
Comment by OneMan Friday, Aug 9, 24 @ 12:49 pm
This is not the only gray public service this agency does. Last week they sent out a press release telling us that excessive drinking while driving a bust or seining was dangerous.
Hard to believe taxpayers can afford these do nothing groups on the state payroll.
Not enough money for Education, but plenty of Money to combat cicadas in drinks and swimming while drinking.
Comment by Back yo the Future Friday, Aug 9, 24 @ 12:54 pm
@47th: It’s not like adding cicadas could possibly make Malort any worse for you.
Comment by Socially DIstant Watcher Friday, Aug 9, 24 @ 12:54 pm
“The act does include a 14-day limit for infusions and bottles have to be clearly labeled with the start and end dates and listed the ingredients used”
While Malorts and Cicadas are certainly good words to grab a headline with, the boring reality is probably that the brewery didn’t follow the labelling requirements. There’s probably a fairly easy way to do the same thing, but also be legit under the existing regulations.
Comment by TheInvisibleMan Friday, Aug 9, 24 @ 1:01 pm
The liquor control folks better be on the lookout for Malort infused with ketchup-less hot dog bits or dust from the ground-up rat hole sidewalk. Some people can’t get enough of these Chicago cultural cliches.
Comment by BC Friday, Aug 9, 24 @ 1:06 pm
“Back yo the Future” - Maybe you could use a bureaucrat to proofread your stuff before you hit “Say It.” ” …driving a bust”, couple of random capitalizations, “yo”?
Comment by West Side the Best Side Friday, Aug 9, 24 @ 1:19 pm
Sorry for the typo.
Probably caused by the worm in my bottle of Tequila. Hope I don’t have to turn myself in, have to hire an attorney, have a hearing and get fined.
I did notice they have a Media Department and I do appreciate the excellent work on letting me know that driving a boat while drunk could be a problem and putting a bug in my drink may not be healthy.
Now that they have accomplished something important it might be a decent idea to fire the media people and redirect the funds to hiring a few teachers.
Comment by Back to the Future Friday, Aug 9, 24 @ 1:21 pm
Illinois Liquor Control Commission= the no-fun police
Comment by Donnie Elgin Friday, Aug 9, 24 @ 1:36 pm
Back to the Future - Thought maybe someone was misusing your handle with all those grammar violations. My problem is usually with Automiscorrect.
Comment by West Side the Best Side Friday, Aug 9, 24 @ 1:37 pm
Correcting people’s grammar and typos on a blog comment site is such important work, thank you for your service
Comment by Alton Sinkhole Friday, Aug 9, 24 @ 1:43 pm
Wish I could blame Autocorrect, but I screwed that up all by myself.
Comment by Back to the Future Friday, Aug 9, 24 @ 1:45 pm
Those killjoys! LOL
Comment by Nick Name Friday, Aug 9, 24 @ 2:20 pm
Probably should have checked to make sure it was legal before doing it. That being said, Back to the Future I’d argue the ILCC is more than a worthless bureaucracy unless you’re ok with them not running underage stings to make sure minors aren’t getting illegal alcohol among their other duties.
Comment by MyTwoCents Friday, Aug 9, 24 @ 3:40 pm
Best to have trained local or State Police law enforcement do that kind of investigation rather than a license checker from an administrative agency operating in a situation that could be very dangerous for the license person and particularly for any young people involved.
These kinds of situations can become very volatile very quickly. Local police can have hearings before the local liquor commissioner and revoke licenses. Local police can make arrests and prosecute offenders in Circuit Court.
Best let Cops do the jobs they are trained for and not start using administrative folks to play at being police officers.
Comment by Back to the Future Friday, Aug 9, 24 @ 4:12 pm
Alton Sinkhole - This is America, you can comment on anything here (within the Blogmaster’s bounds of course). So a comment on a regular commenter, who never makes typos and with a slight change in the handle used led me to wonder if someone had hijacked their name. Thank you for your concern and go have another Malort.
Comment by West Side the Best Side Friday, Aug 9, 24 @ 4:34 pm