If you’re like me, there’s nothing like that first sip of a cold beer, and there’s nothing like that first sip of a good whiskey. If I had to choose, I’d take whiskey over beer every day—but luckily, I don’t have to choose. We can have both, and that luxury extends to cocktails.
Ale and spirits have been bedfellows for centuries, and there are plenty of old recipes that combine them—such as various wassailing punches or the yard of flannel. More recently, there is evidence that the boilermaker—a shot of whiskey with a pint of beer—originated in the 1890s in Butte, Montana, where it was called a Sean O’Farrell; miners enjoyed it after they ended their shifts. (And if you drop the whiskey shot into the beer glass, it’s called a depth charge.)
With the holidays upon us, I begin reaching into my notes of historic cocktails. I like to speak with other mixologists about what flavors they’re working with this year, and what types of spirits and liqueurs they’re into. The resurgence of beer cocktails is on the minds of many of them this year. Beer cocktails are fun and whimsical, and you can make them as refreshing party cocktails or dessert drinks. Beer cocktails are also a great way to get whiskey into the bellies of friends and family who usually think they don’t care for the stuff.