No shaker, no garnish, just a glass of cold beer and a measure of whiskey. The best way to enjoy it is the slow one: a sip of whiskey, then beer to chase it, so each makes the other taste better. Pairing the two thoughtfully has become a small craft of its own.
11¼ oz
lager or pale beer well chillede.g. Heineken · Beck's · Carlsberg · Budweiser · Stella Artois
1 oz
whiskeye.g. Jack Daniel's · Jameson · Jim Beam · Maker's Mark · Bulleit
Garnish: No garnish · Ice: Served up, no ice
Boilermaker
Malty, crisp beer against the vanilla, oak and spice of the whiskey. Fairly strong overall, depending on how quickly it is drunk.
The Boilermaker is an American bar tradition with no documented inventor. The name is usually linked to industrial workers, with the story that boilermakers and other heavy-industry workers ordered a whiskey and a beer at the end of a shift, but this is a popular explanation rather than a proven origin.
In practice people have drunk beer and spirits side by side for as long as both have existed; in Britain the same idea is known as a beer and a chaser. Since the 2010s craft bartenders have given the pairing new respect, matching specific whiskeys with specific beers the way sommeliers match wine with food.
It is a traditional bar habit, but sipping the whiskey and beer separately is safer and tastes better.
Bourbon or rye are the American classics, but any whiskey you like to sip works.
Yes. A shot plus a pint equals roughly two standard drinks, so pace yourself.
The perfect sound
A straight honest drink after a long day.
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