Latest news with #CHDistillery
Eater
2 days ago
- Business
- Eater
Malort Headquarters Serves Some of Chicago's Fanciest Sushi
Joto Sushi's beverage pairings for its sushi omakase meals do not include Jeppson's Malört. Chicago's famous bitter spirit, savored by the city's two-fisted drinkers, was made on premises at CH Distillery, where Joto opened this spring off Randolph Street in the West Loop. In recent months, the spirit's production has shifted to Pilsen. Still, the drink's connoisseurs visit CH as a pilgrimage, but their visits reveal a surprise. The home of the nation's most polarizing liquor also serves a 14-course omakase sushi feast featuring dry-aged bluefin tuna for a relatively affordable price of $125. There's also a 19-course variation Thursday through Sunday, and they've launched a more affordable Monday omakase for $100 aimed at drawing restaurant and bar workers who have the day off. There's feelings of anxiousness and curiosity for those who walk in, says CH Distillery General Manager Tony Frausto: 'They think we're just a bar, then they literally ask 'oh you guys do sushi?'' CH Distillery has no ties to Japanese cuisine or culture. The West Loop bar began serving sushi in March 2022 during the pandemic, using the name Jinsei Motto. It was one of those trademarked pandemic pivots to make use of its kitchen, left unused after COVID dining restrictions. After four successful years, building a strong following of regular customers, Jinsei closed in April. Co-founder and chef Patrick Bouaphanh plans on opening a new restaurant using the Jinsei name. Frausto calls the story of Jinsei a happy one, a tale of overcoming adversity and doing what he calls the best sushi in Chicago. The founders' departures gave CH an opportunity for a reset, to reimagine the space. They've added a kitchen for yakitori, donburi, and more veggie options: 'Our biggest challenge is that not everybody likes sushi,' Frausto says. Dry aging is the centerpiece of the menu. The process, about 32 days, imparts different flavors, and, as Frausto says, it also helps sustainability efforts. For folks who don't like salmon, Frausto estimates that about 40 percent of the population, dry aging can eliminate the oily texture some dislike, making it melt in your mouth. At Joto, they enjoy talking to customers about the process. The kitchen goes through about 250 pounds of tuna per week. The malört business was going so swimmingly with efforts to sell the liquor across state lines. Thus, CH needed to move production to a larger facility that could handle said success. Moving distillery equipment gave management the chance to redecorate a bit. They've taken steps to make it feel more like the streets of Tokyo. Joto Sushi , inside CH Distillery, 564 W. Randolph Street Sign up for our newsletter.
Axios
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Taste Test: Malört candies don't disappoint
What started out as an April Fools' laugh, has turned into a confection bitter enough to make you cry. Why it matters: New Malört Sucks candies open the horrors of Chicago's favorite cult beverage to a whole new segment of the population: non-drinkers. The backstory: After creating a jokey social media post about fictional Malört candies last April 1, Malört maker CH Distillery got so many requests for the product it decided to launch real ones this year. What they're saying: "We are excited to bring Malört Sucks hard candies to our loyal fans across the country, giving them exactly what they asked for — another bad idea," CH CEO Tremaine Atkinson said in a statement. The verdict: These little suckers greet you with a butterscotchy sweetness that quickly gives way to notes of grapefruit peel and chloroquine. In other words, Malört fans will love them. Others will probably want to save these for pranks only.
Axios
13-03-2025
- Business
- Axios
Iconic Wisconsin retreat creates new bourbon with CH Distillery
A rural Wisconsin retreat that served as a "house of ill repute" during Prohibition is returning to its roots. This time it's legal. The big picture: Camp Wandawega is a 100-year-old resort in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, used for company retreats, brand photoshoots, weddings and quiet getaways. Wandawega's unofficial slogan is: "Not new. Not improved. Since 1925." Driving the news: To celebrate the centennial, owners Tereasa Surratt and David Hernandez have created a bourbon called 100 Years of Summer with Chicago's CH Distillery. It will initially be sold at Foxtrot, possibly as soon as the next few weeks. Wandawega also just obtained a Wisconsin liquor license so camp visitors can buy the bourbon and other drinks legally, rather than knock twice for secret entry like they did during Prohibition. Surratt and Hernandez are planning to open a new shop called the Bureau of Tourism in West Town this summer to sell apparel and home goods and also serve as an events space. Flashback: In its early days, Wandawega was a speakeasy for locals, a bootlegging operation and a escape for people on the run. Over the decades, it went through several owners and iterations, including serving as a Catholic Church-run vacation spot for Latvian refugees living in Chicago after World War II. Surratt and Hernandez bought the property in 2003 to restore some of the memories Hernandez had from childhood summers there. What they're saying:"Very few examples exist of these really humble, blue-collar Midwestern resorts that haven't been bastardized over the years by people coming in and, quote, unquote, trying to make it better or bigger or fancier," Surratt tells Axios. Authenticity is the draw. "Camp Wandawega has evolved, not so much as an Airbnb destination in the sea of sameness with glamping resorts popping up everywhere you look … we don't even play in that sandbox." "We have something called the 'manifesto of low expectations.' There's absolutely nature inside and outside every cabin, which is bugs and snakes and raccoons, there's no locks on the doors and no air conditioning," Surratt says.
