Boilermaker (beer cocktail)

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Boilermaker
Type:	Beer cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume:	Beer
Served:	"Neat"; undiluted and without ice (see also straight up)
Standard drinkware:	A pub glass and a shot glass.
Commonly used ingredients:	Pint of beer (~13 parts) One shot (1 part) spirit: Whiskey Rye Tequila Vodka
Preparation:	Usually served separately

A Boilermaker is a beer cocktail consisting of a shot of whiskey, tequila, or vodka, and a glass of beer (therefore sometimes also called simply a shot and a beer). Traditionally, the shot and the beer are served separately, although they may also be mixed before by the preparer.

[edit] Execution

There are various techniques for consuming a boilermaker:

• Classically, the liquor is drunk in one gulp and chased immediately by the beer.
• The two may be mixed by pouring or dropping the shot into the beer. Stirring is at the discretion of the drinker. This technique is called a sidecar.
• The liquor can be poured directly into an open beer can with some beer removed ahead of time.
• A shot glass of the liquor may be dropped into the beer from the surface just before drinking, glass and all - this technique is referred to as a depth charge in some circles. Upon the shot glass striking the bottom of the mug, the carbonation in the beer begins to fizz violently, requiring the drinker to immediately consume the entire drink, either leaving the shot glass in the mug, or grasping it with the lips when setting down the mug.
• Guides differ on the preferred technique, but all agree that speed is the essence of this drink: one generally aims to drink a boilermaker quickly.

[edit] Variations

• Variations with whiskey and Guinness include the carbomb and the Jimmy & Guinney. The Jimmy & Guinney consists of a pint of Guinness and a double shot of Jameson in a whiskey snifter glass.
• Ruffe is a Russian drink made with 100 mL of vodka mixed with 0.5 L of lager.
• A Jägerbomb is made with a shot of Jägermeister dropped, depth-charge style, into a half-pint of Red Bull energy drink.
• A Flaming Dr Pepper is made with a shot of Amaretto, topped with 151 proof rum, lit on fire, and dropped into the 1/2 pint of beer. The result is said to have an aftertaste of Dr Pepper soda.
• A Meltdown is made with a shot of Everclear.
• A "Down Low" is a shot of Bourbon or Tennessee Whiskey in an Old Fashioned glass topped off with beer.
• A sake bomb is made with a shot of sake dropped into a glass of Japanese beer (typically Sapporo).
• A 'spider bite' is made when Tarantula Tequila is dropped into a pub glass full of Rockstar Energy Drink.
• There is also a variation called the Redneck Boiler, which includes dropping a 1/2 ounce of Old Crow whiskey and a 1/2 ounce of Taaka vodka into a pint of Pabst Blue Ribbon.
• A "Canadian Carbomb" is made with a Canadian beer (Molson, etc) with 1/2 ounce Canadian Mist and 1/2 ounce maple syrup dropped into the beer (usually the syrup is microwaved first to make it less viscous).
• A "Jackknife" is made by dropping a shot of Jack Daniels into a glass of Corona, depth charge style.

[edit] Popular culture

In Airport 1975 a woman (played by actress Myrna Loy) keeps ordering them much to the surprise of the men around her.

In the Farrelly Brothers film Dumb and Dumber, when Lloyd and Harry offer to buy Seabass and his friends a round of drinks, he orders four Boilermakers.

In the film A River Runs Through It, when Norman Maclean reveals to his brother he is in love with Jessie Burns, he orders a boilermaker. The bartender gives him a shot and a mug of beer. He drops the shot into the mug, drinks both down and catches the shot glass from inside the mug with his mouth.

In the 1937 Warner Bros. musical "Gold Diggers in Paris," a character played by Edward Brophy tries to order "a boilermaker and his helper" from a French bartender who has no idea what he means. Another American (Allen Jenkins) tells the bartender to get him a short glass of gin and a tall glass of beer.

In the 2007 film Reno 911!: Miami Deputy Travis Junior does a boilermaker in the bathroom, by dropping a shot of tequila into a cup of Pepto Bismol as a remedy after a night of drinking.

In The Office Ryan & Dwight down boilermakers after Dwight's sales lesson. (Season 3 Episode 5)

In an episode of the show Just Shoot Me Finch is having dinner with his father and two brothers. When his father orders drinks for the table, he proceeds to point to Finch's brothers and himself and orders, "Boilermaker, Boilermaker, Boilermaker." To which Finch interjects by ordering himself a "Seabreeze".

In an episode of Frasier, Niles and Frasier show up at their father's (Martin Crane) favorite hang out (the bar "Duke's") where the bartender attempts to serve them boilermakers. They resist at first (Niles insists on a sherry) but realize they're disappointing their father and accept the boilermakers anyway.

In an episode of ALF, Kate Tanners' college-friend has the nick-name "Boilermaker" because she used to drink 14 of them in one night.

Patsy Stone drinks a boilermaker in a New York bar during a third season episode of Absolutely Fabulous.

In The 40 Year Old Virgin the gang downs boilermakers in the club in the attempt to get Steve Carell's character drunk.

The Jesus Lizard have a song entitled "Boilermaker".

On episode 1.03 of the reality television show Kid Nation, the children celebrated by drinking "boilermakers" consisting of mugs of root beer with shots of some other soft drink (probably ginger ale).

On an episode of The Golden Girls, Sophia tells a story from her past in which they "slammed down a few boilermakers..."

In The Bad News Bears the Walter Matthau character "Buttermaker" is seen quaffing one in his car at the kid's playing field, pouring whiskey into his beer can.

On 30 Rock in the episode "Up All Night" Jack Donaghy has a boilermaker when he is out at the bar reminiscing about his ex-wife.

On an episode of Entourage, "Adios Amigos," Vincent Chase, Eric Murphy, and Ari Gold do sake bombs to celebrate getting an investor to make the film Medellin.

In the Cheers episode "Show Down", two prim-looking older women enter the bar and after musing about whether to order cups of tea or glasses of sherry, eventually settle on "two boilermakers, Wild Turkey and Bud."

On the March 13th episode of The Late Show with David Letterman, actress Charlize Theron told host David Letterman that the boys at Harvard gave her a "boiler" when they awarded her the Hasty Pudding 2008 Woman of the Year Award. It was later revealed by Letterman that the drink was in fact a boilermaker.