Boilermaker (beer cocktail)

A boilermaker is either of two types of beer cocktail. In American terminology, the drink consists of a glass of beer mixed with a shot of whiskey.[1]

The ingredients of the American version of a boilermaker

Name

The drink originated in Butte, Montana, in the 1890s, and was originally called a Sean O'Farrell and was served only when miners ended their shifts.[2][3][4] When the beer is served as a chaser, the drink is often called simply a shot and a beer.[5]

In England, the term boilermaker traditionally refers to a half pint of draught mild mixed with a half pint of bottled brown ale, although it also refers to the American shot and pint.[6] In Scotland, a half and a half is a half pint of beer with a whisky ("a wee hawf").[7] The use of these terms in Scottish and English pubs can be traced back to about 1920.[8]

Drinking

There are a number of ways to drink an American beer chaser:

  • Traditionally, the liquor is consumed in a single gulp and is then "chased" by the beer, which is sipped.[9][10]
  • The liquor and beer may be mixed by pouring or dropping the shot into the beer. The mixture may be stirred.[9] If the shot glass is dropped into the beer glass, the drink can also be known as a depth charge.[11]

Similar drinks

Other pairings of a shot and a beer are possible; traditional pairings include:

  • Herrengedeck ("gentlemen's menu"), a German pairing of Korn (grain brandy) and beer[12]
  • Regenschirm ("umbrella"), a German pairing of Allasch and Gose.[13]
  • Irish car bomb (cocktail), a pairing of a shot of Irish cream and whiskey into a glass of stout[14]
  • Kopstootje ("little headbutt"), a Dutch pairing of Jenever (Dutch gin) and beer,[15] term attested 1943[16]
  • Somaek or Poktan-ju, a Korean pairing of soju and beer[17]
  • U-boot, a pairing of vodka and beer
  • The Chicago Handshake or Chicago Drive-by, a shot of Jeppson's Malört alongside Old Style beer[18][19]
  • The Citywide, sometimes called the Citywide Special, a Philadelphia pairing of a shot of Jim Beam and a Pabst Blue Ribbon[20]
  • A sake bomb is the pairing of a pint of Japanese beer and sake. Typically drunk in a single motion like a depth charge but it can be mixed, and swallowed in a go.
  • The Slow Mutant consists of a shot of Jeppson’s Malört and a Long Drink.

See also

References
  1. Walkart, C.G. (2002). National Bartending Center Instruction Manual. Oceanside, California: Bartenders America, Inc. p. 123.  ASIN: B000F1U6HG. The BCIM lost track of the traditional American Boilermaker from the 1970s and 80s; this involves a "depth charge," which is a shotglass filled with whiskey that is dropped into a 2/3 filled pint of beer. The 2002 manual suggests to “Serve whiskey in a shot glass with a glass of beer on the side as a chaser.”
  2. Randall, Jessy F. (2013). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. Oxford University Press USA. p. 58. ISBN 9780199734962.
  3. Patterson, Troy (2015-09-07). "What Beer To Drink on Labor Day—and on the Job". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2021-05-11.
  4. "Butte in midst of beer price war". Newspapers.com. 20 April 1967. Archived from the original on 2021-05-11. Retrieved 2021-05-11.
  5. "Boilermakers go beyond the basic: where to find the most-interesting varieties in Seattle". The Seattle Times. 2018-01-10. Retrieved 2021-05-11.
  6. "Why Do the Dutch Call a Beer and a Shot a 'Little Headbutt'?". Thrillist. Retrieved 2021-05-11.
  7. "Dictionary of the Scots Language:: SND :: half". Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  8. Partridge, Eric (1937). A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, Edition 8, 2002. Routledge. p. 111. ISBN 978-0415291897.
  9. Hellmich, Mittie (2006). The Ultimate Bar Book: The Comprehensive Guide to Over 1,000 Cocktails. Chronicle Books. pp. 93–94. ISBN 0-8118-4351-3.
  10. Regan, Gary (2003). The Joy of Mixology (first ed.). New York: Clarkson Potter. p. 226. ISBN 0-609-60884-3.
  11. Rense, Sarah (2020-04-03). "A Boilermaker Is the Overly Efficient Kind of Drink We Need Right Now". Esquire. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
  12. Matthew Rowley (2015). Lost Recipes of Prohibition: Notes from a Bootlegger's Manual. The Countryman Press.
  13. "Leipziger Allasch". Sachsen.de. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  14. "This St. Patrick's Day Staple Is a Crowd Pleaser". Liquor.com. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
  15. Kopstootje: A Little Head Butt from Stillwater Artisanal Ales and Bols Genever, Jonathan Moxey
  16. De pers in Nederland, H. A. Goedhart N.v. Nederlandsche uitgeverij "Opbouw,", 1943, p. 162
  17. "Measuring beloved Korean drink, from smooth to blackout". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
  18. McNear, Claire (2019-02-06). "Malört, Chicago's Celebrated, Foul-Tasting Liquor, Is Returning to Its Ancestral Home". The Ringer. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
  19. Lukach, Louisa Chu, Nick Kindelsperger, Marissa Conrad, Joseph Hernandez, Bill Daley, Josh Noel, Adam. "It's Chicago's fake birthday — celebrate with these 30 classic Chicago foods and drinks, from Original Rainbow Cone to a Chicago Handshake". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2021-05-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. Gruber, Lauren (2015-08-04). "The Best Citywide Deals In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania". Culture Trip. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
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