An Illinois Bar Has Officially Lost Their Mind With a Cicada Malört Shot

A popular brewpub outside of Chicago has put two of the most atrocious things Illinois is known for together into a cocktail you have to be brave to try. You might have to be masochistic in order to truly enjoy it.

The Noon Whistle Pub in Lombard, IL announced that they would be converging cicadas and the popular "gag liquor" Malört into "cicada shots" that will be served at their brewpub in the western suburbs in Chicago.

For those who might not know, Malört is a liqueur know for its horribly bitter taste. It's a brand of bäsk liqueur, which is known for its wormwood and anise flavor. It's extremely bitter, with a taste that lives on your tongue for a while after it's introduced. It's the kind of shot you give to a friend on their 21st birthday.

To me, it tastes like bitter, herbal gasoline. Some have described it as a rite of passage in the Chicagoland era as a shot can symbolically "erase past mistakes," at least that's what the movie Drinking Buddies told me.

Back to the shot itself, Noon Whistle Pub shared a post on Instagram that read:

Prepare yourself for a once-in-a-lifetime experience because starting today, we’re thrilled to unveil our exclusive locally harvested Cicada-Infused Malört at Lombard Brewpub! - per Noon Whistle Pub's Instagram page

The brewpub is collecting cicadas used for the shot from a nearby park, cooking them, and then putting them into bottles of the infamous liqueur in a makeshift infusion process. It's becoming known as "a shot 17 years in the making," as cicadas are known to emerge every 17 years.

A "cicada shot" at Noon Whistle Pub will run you $5, but if you have a shellfish allergy, you should not partake.

Per NBC 5 Chicago, cicadas are indeed safe to ingest. They are actually a very hearty, meaty insect, and provide a lot of nutrients. Cicadas are safe to eat for dogs as well, but consuming too many, along with their exoskeletons (the shells they leave behind), and lead to intestinal obstruction. Best to limit your dog to one or two to be on the safe side.

Maybe it's the fact that I haven't had a shot of Malört in about four or five years, but I'd be willing to drop a fiver on the bar-top and try this for myself. I likely wouldn't be proud after the fact, but I'd be able to say I did.

Illinois is currently being overrun by literal billions of cicadas as "Brood XIII" is converging with another variety of the insect billed as "Brood XIX." The last time the two broods merged was in 1803, according to WGN. Thomas Jefferson was president when that last occurred.

Get our free mobile app

Read more about Noon Whistle Pub's cicada shot on WGN's website.