Drinking Wyoming: Frosty’s, A True Casper Dive Bar Proudly Serving Horrible Liquor

Cowboy State Daily’s 'Drinking Wyoming' is presented by Pine Bluffs Distilling

CASPER — Jeppson’s Malort might be one of the strangest liquors around. While it looks a bit like whiskey or scotch, it is actually a Swedish bask liquor infused with bitter wormwood. It was born in Chicago as a stomach worm cure.

It’s still easy to find in the Windy City, where drinking it has become a rite of passage. There’s even an annual trophy called the Carl Cup devoted to the best bar serving Jeppson’s Malort.

But in the windy state of Wyoming?

Not so much.

There is, however, one place where it’s become something of a local legend. That place is a little dive bar off the beaten path in Casper called Frosty’s Bar and Grill.

“It’s kind of become a joke amongst customers,” co-owner Morgan Ballard told Cowboy State Daily. “Like here, do a shot, and then they discover just how terrible it is.”

Those tasting it for the first time do so to the knowing laughter of everyone in the bar.

It’s made for some entertaining videos of patrons who had no idea what they were in for. And it has earned the liquor a more-or-less permanent spot among the more traditional whiskey and beer at Frosty’s.

The taste of Malort isn’t just funky in a cute little way that becomes endearing over time like, say absinthe, the liquor of murder and madness that is also flavored with wormwood. Unlike absinthe, Malort has just one flavor note, and it is bitterness to the very end of the very last drop.

Describing the taste creatively, in a way that fully conveys the harshness of this drink, has become something of an art form.

It’s a blend of anguish and regret all in one shot, or it’s old socks soaked in grapefruit juice. More famously in the 2013 film “Drinking Buddies,” its taste was likened to a burnt condom filled with gasoline.

The liquor’s taste is so bad, it managed to escape prohibition in Chicago at least, because it was so “medicinal” — a stomach worm cure that tasted so bad — no one was thought likely to drink it at all, much less imbibe enough to get drunk.

When the Boozefighters Show Up, Go With It

Malort is not the easiest liquor on the planet to order, and isn’t something Ballard would have ever thought up on her own.

“I feel like we have always had a pretty traditional backbar,” Ballard said.

There are 16 whiskeys available, as well as a generous selection of fruity liqueurs for the non-whiskey drinkers who still want a shot.

Ballard’s mom, Stacey Quick, also keeps a diversity of liquors on hand for evening cocktails, like white Russians, margaritas and espresso martinis.

There’s also beer on tap, including the ever-popular Speed Goat from Ten Sleep Brewing Co.,and things like Blue Moon or Blacktooth Brewing Co.’s Saddle Bronc.

Malort landed at Frosty’s by special request, when a motorcycle club called the Boozefighters showed up one night and politely asked Ballard if she would consider carrying it in the future, just for them.

At first, Ballard was hesitant, but the club hadn’t been able to find their signature liquor anywhere else in Casper. That didn’t seem too likely to change any time soon, so Ballard decided to corner this little Malort market, and see how things went. 

“It’s a special-order item,” Ballard said. “So, we can’t just order it and have it in a couple of days. It actually takes us at least a month to get it.”

Ballard believes Frosty’s is still the only bar in Casper with Malort, and possibly the only small dive bar in Wyoming to invest in this strange liquor on a regular basis.

“It’s kind of expensive for us to have it,” she said. “The ordering process isn’t as basic as your typical Crown Jack.”

But it’s proven over time to be a winner. In fact, when the bar ran out, there were Facebook comments celebrating its return, in a fashion.

“Thank God!” one poster said. “Been missing that familiar taste of pencil shavings and poor decisions!” 

“Ugh lol,” wrote another with a laughing, crying emoji. 

“Why be so cruel to people with something that tastes like gasoline, bad decisions, and dumpster drippings? Lol,” wrote a third.

Frosty’s Has Been Serving Up Friendliness Almost 80 Years

All the joking helps answer the question of how an odd-duck liquor like Malort finds its niche at small, Wyoming dive bar devoted to beer and whiskey. It’s become integral to the bar’s brand of friendliness.

That friendliness started with the establishment’s first owner, F.V. “Frosty” Harrison. He opened the bar after buying the Ray Protzman Liquor store’s inventory and license in 1947. 

Harrison styled his new establishment as a street corner-style bar, catering to locals who want a quick, after-work cocktail or a quick beer and burger for lunch. 

An old newspaper clipping, written shortly after the business opened, highlighted the friendly demeanor of Frosty, as well as the patrons at the bar, concluding the bar was “friendly, convenient and neat.”

The spirit of that friendly beer-and-burger shtick remains a selling point.

“That’s really kind of been the trademark for as long as it’s been around,” Ballard said. “And that’s still what’s on the sign.”

The bar even still serves a burger called “The Big Frosty.” It’s two, all-beef patties with cheese, lettuce, onion, pickle, and Thousand Island dressing — perfect for a hearty appetite. 

“This is definitely a local’s bar,” Ballard added. “But you don’t have to be a local to enjoy yourself here. I’ve seen people who have walked into this door for the first time, and they leave with 100 new friends.

“They may never step foot back in this place, but they never forget this experience.”

Dive Bar Badge Of Honor

It’s against that backdrop that a strange liquor like Jeppson’s Malort has taken root and become something of a bonding experience in an unlikely space. It can break the ice in a way nothing else can match.

Not often requested twice — outside the motorcycle club’s celebrations — it’s become a go-to for breaking in the occasional unsuspecting newcomer flirting with becoming a regular, or the passersby who somehow find this bar off the beaten path more often than one might think. 

“We’re not right off the interstate, so it is kind of interesting how people just somehow manage to find us,” Ballard said. “Yet on the flip side of that, there are people who have lived in Casper for 50, 60 years who have never even heard of us or think we’re an ice cream shop.”

Malort ice cream anyone?

Regardless of how newcomers find the bar, Ballard hopes what they find is a place that feels like “Cheers” — that cliche television staple, where everyone seems to know your name, even when they never met you before. 

Frosty’s has often won Casper’s best dive bar through the years, Ballard said. She considers the moniker a true badge of honor. 

“Some people consider ‘dive bar’ to be a derogatory term, but we take it as a compliment,” she said. “And sadly, I feel like dive bars are a dying breed. As modern as we want to stay, we don’t want to lose that.

“It’s what makes us feel welcoming and home to people, even if they only come here once or are just passing through.”

Contact Renee Jean at renee@cowboystatedaily.com

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.