Swedish Paralysis
Whip shake, pour into a Tiki mug, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a pineapple wedge, mint sprig, and smoldering cinnamon stick. The original garnish was an edible flower. Do not let the garnish specificity hold you back. An orange or lemon peel or wheel could be used with a cinnamon stick or other combinations.
This is the recipe that I won 3rd place in for the Boston Malört Competition in 2025 and varies slightly from my original published recipe as such: (1) the volume of Malört was increased from 1.5 to 2 oz especially since I had developed the recipe with the old Florida product and not the smoother modern Chicago one, (2) added 5 drops of 20% saline, and (3) changed the garnish from edible flower to what I had on hand which was a pineapple wedge, cinnamon stick, and mint sprig.
I became inspired when I was reminded of Smuggler's Cove Norwegian Paralysis. Their riff was an aquavit variation on the okelehao-based Polynesian Paralysis, and I had recently tinkered with an Italian amari (Fernet-Campari) direction in the Dolce Far Niente. To change things up, I opted for Malört as the spirit and switched the demerara syrup to cinnamon to better complement the herbal liqueur, and I dubbed this one the Swedish Paralysis. For the competition, I increased the Malört to 2 oz from 1 1/2 (it was developed with the Florida stuff which was rougher), added 5 drops of saline, and changed up the garnish from the one on the blog (see notes). The end result was 3rd place.
- Red Square — Becherovka, Lemon juice, Vanilla syrup, Rosemary, Raspberry
