Greetings and Happy New Year,
I sit here sipping on my cup of coffee, genuinely shocked that it is already 2018. 2017 was a good one for Welcome to Thursdays, as we got to try some pretty amazing bars and meet some pretty fantastic people along the way. With a new year comes my favorite part of this group: the anniversary party! More info to come soon but mark your calendars – you will all be busy with the WTT crew on Saturday, February 24th celebrating the awesomeness of this group! Until then though, let’s keep making Thursday nights the most exciting night of the week for one lucky bar in Milwaukee. This week that lucky bar is one of my favorites, Finks!
Yes, Finks makes some of the best cocktails in Milwaukee. Yes, they have some pretty awesome retro arcade machines in back. Yes, the bar staff are easily the friendliest out there and they are willing to make you a concoction you will never forget; however, none of these amazing traits are what make this bar one of my favorites. Aside from making a mesmerizing Manhattan that is the best in Milwaukee, Finks offers one drink that stands alone as a true test of grit and strength, a drink that is legendary when it comes to taste: Jeppson’s Malort. I’ll just come right out and say it – this drink does not taste the greatest, and when you try it for the first time you may feel as if you have killed every taste bud in your mouth. But once you get past that, you realize that there is something bigger at work here: how could something this bad still be around?
Originally the back of the bottle said –
“Most first-time drinkers of Jeppson Malort reject our liquor. Its strong, sharp taste is not for everyone. Our liquor is rugged and unrelenting (even brutal) to the palate. During almost 60 years of American distribution, we found only 1 out of 49 men will drink Jeppson Malort. During the lifetime of our founder, Carl Jeppson was apt to say, ‘My Malort is produced for that unique group of drinkers who disdain light flavor or neutral spirits.’ It is not possible to forget our two-fisted liquor. The taste just lingers and lasts – seemingly forever. The first shot is hard to swallow! Persevere [sic]. Make it past two ‘shock-glasses’ and with the third you could be ours… forever.”
Malort may be evil to many, but to me it is a unique and unforgettable drink – that’s all I can ask for out of a drink. I have decided to invent a new Boilermaker specifically for Welcome to Thursdays, I’ll call it the “Thursday Night Special”, a shot of Malort and a can of Old Milwaukee, both full of flavor and unforgettable. Come on out this Thursday night and have one with me!
Cheers my Friends!
Your Co-founder and Friend,
Jeremy Jay. Blandin
*Keeping your glass filled and spirits high one Thursday at a time, this is Welcome to Thursdays: a local social group determined to make your Thursdays more fun. Each Wednesday, The Squeaky Curd features a (generally) fictitious story of a Milwaukee County bar that we gather at on Thursday evening. Join us this Thursday, January 4, 2017 at Finks, 1875 N Humboldt Ave(East Side), at 7:30pm.*