Boilermaker

The Boilermaker is a simple but beloved American drinking ritual of dropping a shot of whiskey into a glass of beer and drinking the two together. The combination is associated above all with the diners, neighborhood taverns, and after-work bars of the American Midwest and East Coast, although variations exist in several other countries where strong spirits and beer are drunk side by side. Despite the industrial name, the drink is not actually linked to the boilermakers who built and repaired steam boilers in the nineteenth century, although many folk etymologies point that way.

The classic American Boilermaker is a two-ounce shot of rye or bourbon whiskey dropped directly into a twelve- or sixteen-ounce glass of American lager or pilsner. Some drinkers prefer to drink the shot first and chase it with the beer; others tip the whole glass back as one. Bars will also serve the two components separately on a wooden "Boilermaker paddle" so that the customer can pour the spirit in at their own pace. Variations use Irish whiskey and stout, Scotch and ale, or, in a few craft bars, small-batch bourbon and a local IPA.

Order a Boilermaker at American working-class taverns, diners with late-night liquor licenses, and the rough-and-ready beer bars that still exist in cities such as Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Boston. The cocktail has also become a favorite of craft distilleries, who frequently serve a flight of their own whiskey paired with a local lager. Outside the United States, look for it in Irish pubs and at whisky-themed pop-ups in London, Sydney, and Toronto.