Boilermakers may be the most elemental of pairings: a shot of liquor and a beer. Unadulterated, uncomplicated, unfussy. Even your grandpa’s favorite dive bar can pour them. So why are bartenders highlighting boilermakers on cocktail menus next to creative, multi-ingredient original cocktails? The reason may be as straightforward as the combo itself. “[Bartenders] went through the speakeasy and waxed mustache phase. The natural tendencies of bartenders is to go back to something more simple, more primal,” said Michael Rubel, beverage director at Henry’s Swing Club, which has a section on the menu devoted to boilermakers. “They’re a good corrective to some of the complicated cocktails, to a lot of preciousness.” Plus, most bartenders really like drinking them. “It’s the natural beverage of choice for a lot of bartenders,” Rubel said. “When a bartender gets done making really great craft cocktails, what do you really want?”
There are only two aspects of boilermakers that seem to cause any confusion: where the term came from, and how they should be consumed. “I have no idea where the name comes from,” said Paul Sauter of Tippling Hall, which also features boilermakers on its menu. “But I could certainly tell you that … people have always liked consuming two types of alcohol together. Who started calling it a boilermaker? I don’t think we’ll ever know.” Other bartenders I spoke to echoed Sauter’s shrug. Even the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers website has a section devoted to the mystery. Equally perplexing for some is whether the shot should be consumed before the beer, or dropped into the beer like a “bomb.” On this issue, at least, I found some answers. “A ‘depth charge’ is when you actually put the shot inside the beer. So to me, a boilermaker is emphatically not that,” Rubel said. “It’s just booze in a glass and a beer. Period. There’s a certain gravity there, so the games of dropping it in there, it takes away from that.” Now that you’re ready to take this drink seriously, here’s where to find new versions of a classic pairing.
Lone Wolf (above)
806 W. Randolph St. 312-600-9391
The West Loop bar recently retooled its menu to include a thoughtful selection of boilermaker pairings ($12-$15), from approachable (bourbon and pilsner) to adventurous (green chartreuse and Three Floyds’ Zombie Dust). “I’ve sat down and tasted these out with all the beers and really tried to figure out flavors that have gone well together,” Lone Wolf bar director Stephen Cole said. That includes a shot of blanco tequila paired with Founders Centennial IPA. “The beer’s bright, piney, almost marijuana-like and grapefruit notes go so well with agave spirits,” Cole said. His favorite combo, though, is a shot of green chartreuse and a Three Floyds Zombie Dust pale ale. “Bartenders that know me, [when I go to their bars], there’s a shot of green chartreuse sitting there next to a hoppy beer.”
646 N. Franklin St. 312-448-9922
In between menu pages of shaken, stirred and draft cocktails at this new River North cocktail bar, you’ll find a bright red-and-yellow page devoted to “Double Fisters!” (tagline: “Finally … fun with both hands!”) There are some eyebrow-raising pairs on there, not all of which are technically boilermakers. These combos including a Dickelback ($7)—a shot of George Dickel whiskey paired with a beef broth chaser—which bartender Paul Sauter said is Tippling Hall’s take on a pickleback (shot of whiskey and shot of pickle juice). Two drinks not enough? Go all in with the Blarney Miller ($9), a triple-fister that includes a shot of Irish whiskey, shot of pickle juice, a shot of sangrita (a Mexican chaser that Tippling Hall makes with tomato, cucumber and pomegranate ) and a 7-ounce Miller High Life bottle.
Henry’s Swing Club More Top Picks Best Tvs
18 W. Hubbard St. 312-955-8018
Though you can walk into nearly any bar and order a shot and a beer, Rubel believes boilermakers deserve their own spotlight. “People who enjoy a shot and a beer are excited to see them on the menu and that someone respects that,” he said. “We’re going to give each a name and make them as important as any seven-ingredient cocktail on there.” Try the Packaged Goods ($6), an ultra-Chicago combo of malort and an Old Style draft, or a Staff Meeting, which combines a shot of fernet amaro with a can of Founders All Day IPA ($9). Drinking like your dad (or with your dad)? Order a shot of bonded bourbon and a can of Stroh’s, which Rubel has dubbed Hamtramck after a neighborhood in northern Detroit.
Fulton Market Kitchen (above)
311 N. Sangamon St. 312-733-6900
While there’s nothing wrong with Fulton Market Kitchen’s classic Coors-and-bourbon boilermaker ($6), it’s the other five pairings that are worth a longer look. The Larry Johnson ($11) pairs a Chicago-brewed beer, Off Color’s Troublesome gose with a shot of Grand Marnier, an orange-flavored cognac. Feeling something lighter and more floral? Try the Low Hung Fruit ($12), which pairs a shot of elderflower liqueur with Maeloc dry cider.
Coming soon: Barley & Brass
2015 W. Division St.
This forthcoming tavern from the brothers behind River North burger spot 25 Degrees will highlight boilermakers on its beverage menu when it opens in the former Fame space in Wicker Park. Expect to see house-infused cinnamon whiskey with an Old Style back ($9) and a shot of house bitters served with a PBR ($8). Management expects Barley & Brass to open within the next week or two.