Endangered Cocktails: Boilermaker

Winter doldrums got you down?
Can’t cope with the T anymore?
Getting through a romantic break-up?
Wondering what do drink after you’ve sent in your anonymous gripe?
The Boilermaker, of course.

A series of in-depth interviews with John Gertsen of Drink yielded the following: “I believe that all of the earliest saloon drinking was merely some strong whiskey and good ale.  It makes perfect sense to me that someone eventually put the two together, kinda like those old Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup commercials.

One thing that is most certain is that many unions, including the Brotherhood of Boiler Makers and Iron Shipbuilders, met frequently in saloons.  According to turn-of-the-century sociologist, Royal Melendy, ‘The Hotels . . . do not want the man with the soiled clothes and the calloused hands in their rooms.  They are forced to meet in the saloons or in rooms above.’ As a saloon-keeper, I find the boilermaker to be an effective drink for all classes, including those with clean clothes and smooth hands.  We offer Old Overholt Rye and a Reading Premium Beer as our house boilermaker.”

In-the-know bartenders may call for esoteric digestifs like Chartreuse or Fernet as their shot of choice but Irish whiskey is a great go-to if you aren’t feeling in the mood for the green or black stuff.  Jameson in particular does smooth, quick work when duty calls.

JAMESON BOILERMAKER
ONE Narragansett
ONE “generous” shot of Jameson Irish Whiskey
It’s all-American, an homage to good old Irish Boston, and it will cure what ails you.
(Sure you can drop that shot
into the beer glass if you like;
we prefer the beer as a chaser.)

Sáinte!