原文標題
Midwestern drinking habits
Twofisted taste
Chicago tries to export its most unpleasant booze
中西部的飲酒習慣
雙手拿酒
芝加哥努力推廣該市最不受歡迎的烈酒

Care for a shot of Mal?rt?
Why do parts of the Midwest love such awful booze?
來一杯苦艾酒嗎？

為什么中西部地區(qū)人們喜歡這么難喝的酒呢？

[Paragraph 1]

NEW VISITORS to Chicago—at least those who stay with local friends or relatives—can expect many lovely experiences.?

新來芝加哥的游客——至少那些和當?shù)嘏笥鸦蛴H戚住在一起的人——可以期待許多美好的體驗。

They will be taken to the Art Institute, to pose like Ferris Bueller in front of priceless paintings, and to The Bean to take selfies with the skyline, then perhaps for an Italian beef sandwich.?

他們會被帶到藝術(shù)學院，在價值連城的畫作前擺出費里斯·布里爾的姿勢，然后去鏡豆廣場與天際線一起自拍，接著或許會去嘗嘗意大利牛肉三明治。

Almost as inevitable, at least if they are not teetotallers, is that afterwards they will be taken to a bar and forced to drink a “Chicago handshake”: a pint of Old Style beer and a shot of a deeply bitter spirit that is almost entirely unknown outside the Windy City.
幾乎可以肯定的是，如果他們不是滴酒不沾的人，就一定會被帶去酒吧，被迫喝上一杯“芝加哥見面酒”：一品脫的老式啤酒和一杯非?？酀牧揖疲@種烈酒在“風城”（芝加哥）以外幾乎不為人知。

[Paragraph 2]
That is Jeppson’s Mal?rt, a wormwood liqueur invented by Carl Jeppson, a Swedish immigrant to the city almost a century ago.
這就是Jeppson’s Mal?rt，一種由卡爾·杰普森發(fā)明的苦艾酒，他是近百年前移居該市的瑞典裔移民。

The spirit is so closely associated with Chicago that it includes a version of its flag on the bottle (an old one, with three stars instead of four).
這種酒與芝加哥緊密相連，以至于它在瓶子上印有該市的市旗（一個帶有三顆星而不是四顆的舊版旗幟）。

It tastes, connoisseurs say, a little like an old shoe. Yet its owners would like it to sell elsewhere.
內(nèi)行說，它嘗起來有點舊鞋的味道。然而，酒老板希望能夠?qū)⑵渫茝V銷售到其他地方。

[Paragraph 3]
In late March Mal?rt went on sale in Ohio, with a flurry of publicity mostly focused on how awful it is.
3月底，Mal?rt在俄亥俄州上市，大量宣傳主要集中在它的槽點上。

Since 2018, when CH Distillery, a small Chicago-based maker of vodka, gins and other spirits, bought the brand, it has expanded sales to around 30 states, says Tremaine Atkinson, the firm’s CEO.
CH Distillery總部位于芝加哥，這是一家小型伏特加、杜松子酒和其他烈酒制造商。該公司的首席執(zhí)行官屈里曼阿特金森說，自2018年收購Mal?rt品牌以來，它已將其推廣銷售到了30個州左右。

The market is already there, largely because “Chicagoans land in other places and they all seem to get nostalgic about Mal?rt,” he says. As a result, “it spreads like the noxious weed that wormwood is.”
他說市場已經(jīng)存在，主要是因為“定居在其他地方的芝加哥人會懷念Mal?rt酒?！币虼?，“它就像毒草苦艾一樣蔓延開來?！?br>
Some fans have even written in from New Zealand, Mr Atkinson says, sending a recording of a song about the drink that leaves a similar aftertaste to its subject. He declined to share it with?The Economist.
阿特金森說，甚至有一些粉絲從新西蘭寫信來，發(fā)送了一首關(guān)于這種酒的歌曲錄音，歌曲與酒有相似的余味。然而，他拒絕向《經(jīng)濟學人》分享這首歌。

It is less clear yet, however, whether the market expands much beyond Chicagoans who have moved away.
然而，目前尚不清楚市場是否會觸及背井離鄉(xiāng)的芝加哥人之外的人群。

[Paragraph 4]
And what about the core market, Chicago proper?
那么關(guān)于核心市場，芝加哥本市呢？

Some might expect the growing sophistication of American drinking culture to reduce the appeal of bizarre hooch.
有些人可能會認為美國飲酒文化日益成熟會降低奇怪烈酒的吸引力。

Visitors to even the smallest towns can now usually buy a fancy craft beer made nearby, so why drink something awful to feel like a local?
即使是到最小城鎮(zhèn)旅游，游客現(xiàn)在也通?？梢再I到附近釀造的精釀啤酒，那么為什么要喝一些難喝的酒來感覺像本地人呢？

Drinks like Mal?rt seem to hold on as a symbol of regional pride.
Mal?rt這類酒似乎仍然是地區(qū)驕傲的象征。

Indeed, some fancy bars have recently started offering Mal?rt cocktails—a less traumatising way to try the city spirit.
事實上，一些高檔酒吧最近開始提供Mal?rt雞尾酒——以一種不那么痛苦的方式來品嘗這種芝加哥烈酒。

Mr Atkinson says the taste of wormwood goes especially well with citrus flavours.
阿特金森說，苦艾的味道與柑橘風味很搭。

[Paragraph 5]

Of course, Mal?rt is not the only Midwestern alcoholic speciality outsiders are shocked by.?

當然，Mal?rt不是唯一一個讓外地人感到震驚的中西部特色酒。

In Wisconsin, locals drink a sickly sweet version of an Old Fashioned made with Korbel, a Californian brandy, and Sprite, topped with a glazed cherry. Over half of Korbel’s sales are in the Badger State.?

在威斯康星州，當?shù)厝藭纫环N用加州白蘭地Korbel和雪碧制成的甜膩Old Fashioned酒，上面還會加一顆糖霜櫻桃。一半以上的Korbel酒銷量是在威斯康星州。

In Michigan a popular cocktail, the “Hummer”, features white rum, Kahlúa and two full scoops of vanilla ice cream.?

在密歇根州，一種名為“Hummer”的雞尾酒非常流行，它由白朗姆酒、卡魯亞酒和兩勺香草冰淇淋制成。

Midwesterners are more likely to indulge in binge-drinking than most other Americans (see map).?

中西部人比大多數(shù)美國人更沉溺于狂歡飲酒（參見地圖）。

Mal?rt is advertised as being “savoured by two-fisted drinkers”. That is because you need something else in your other hand to wash it down.
Mal?rt被宣傳為“雙手拿酒者的最愛”。這是因為你需要用另一只手拿點別的東西來沖淡它的味道。

（恭喜讀完，本篇英語詞匯量555左右）
原文出自：2023年4月1日《The Economist》United states版塊。

精讀筆記來源于：自由英語之路

本文翻譯整理: Irene

本文編輯校對: Irene
僅供個人英語學習交流使用。

【補充資料】（來自于網(wǎng)絡(luò)）
瑞典苦艾酒Jeppson's Mal?rt出現(xiàn)于上個世紀。它的主要成分是艾草。這似乎沒有什么特別的。但它的味道是苦澀的。很多人都覺得這是最令人厭惡的飲品。

芝加哥市民戲稱云門為“豆子”(the bean),從側(cè)面看,這座巨大的不銹鋼雕塑真的很像一顆渾圓飽滿的蠶豆。云門被稱為具有標志性和革新性的作品，它在主題上和很多卡普爾以前的作品有著共通點。塑像的鏡子效果讓人聯(lián)想到以前游樂園里的哈哈鏡，但這些效果有著更嚴肅的目的，他們讓巨大的“云門”看起來相當輕巧?！霸崎T”被認為是卡普爾最有野心的作品，因為這個鏡子形的藝術(shù)品結(jié)構(gòu)十分復(fù)雜。

芝加哥毗鄰北美最大的湖泊之一密歇根湖，每到夏季，湖區(qū)吹來陣陣涼風，芝加哥成為人們避暑的好去處；但在冬季，刺骨的寒風在芝加哥高層建筑物間的街道上肆虐，使人受不住，因此，芝加哥被稱為美國的“風城”(WindyCity)。

費里斯·布里爾（Ferris Bueller）是1986年約翰·休斯（John Hughes）電影《費里斯·布里爾的休假》（Ferris Bueller’s Day Off）中的主角。這部電影講述了一位高中聰明人決定從學校請一天假，盡管校長對此持反對意見。

【重點句子】（3?個）
It is less clear yet, however, whether the market expands much beyond Chicagoans who have moved away.
然而，目前尚不清楚市場是否會觸及背井離鄉(xiāng)的芝加哥人之外的人群。

Some might expect the growing sophistication of American drinking culture to reduce the appeal of bizarre hooch.
有些人可能會認為美國飲酒文化日益成熟會降低奇怪烈酒的吸引力。

Midwesterners are more likely to indulge in binge-drinking than most other Americans.
中西部人比大多數(shù)美國人更沉溺于狂歡飲酒。