(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — “It's a disgusting thing,” bar owner Harry Nyholm is talking about a Chicago Handshake.
He owns The Cabin at Old Irving with his sisters Maria and Cheryl.
He described the Chicago Handshake, which is, like it or not, absolutely made in Chicago.
“It's a Malört, which originally came from Sweden with the traditional can of Old Style. So you do the shot of Malört and you rinse down the nasty taste with Old Style.”
It’s difficult to get more Chicago than an Old Style and Malört.
The Chicago Handshake has been around for years. You can get one at many bars. There are even challenges in which people have one at multiple establishments.
But do you really want one?
“When people come and visit Chicago and it's their first time in, it's like, ‘Oh, you got to do the Chicago Handshake, which is a shot of Malört.’ Which, you have to tell them, you cannot smell it. You just got to drink it.”
Now don't be confused. Old Style beer is tasty. Chicagoans love it, and it washes away the taste of Malört.
Donna works with Harry at the cabin at Old Irving.
“People ask me. ‘What does it taste like?’ I tell them, ‘Put an aspirin on your tongue and let it slowly dissolve, and then wipe it off with a dirty gym sock,’” said Donna who works with Harry at The Cabin at Old Irving.
The Chicago handshake, regrettably perhaps, made in Chicago.
“If you feel the need to throw up, please don't do it in my bar,” Harry said.
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