If you’re thoroughly prepared for your home quarantine, you likely purchased a few bottles of whiskey and a whole lot of beer. When it comes to crucial supplies, these two items fall right below toilet paper, bread, and pasta in the preparedness kit hierarchy. And with the quarantine heading into its fourth full week, combining the whiskey with the pint –resulting in a boilermaker — is starting to look pretty alluring.
You’d have a good precedent to work off of if you decide to go that route. Seabass, the villainous trucker from Dumb And Dumber, is a boilermaker aficionado. It’s a simple, perfect non-cocktail and very easy to fix in between games of Jenga and Netflix binges. You can either drink the shot and then chase it with the beer or drop the shot into the beer and chug it down.
Bartenders don’t really subscribe to the second version, too messy. Better to sip on the whiskey and the beer back-to-back. But regardless of the technique you choose, you’ll want to pick two complementary flavors. To help with that, we asked some of our favorite bartenders to tell us their go-to pairings of beer and whisky. Check their answers below!
Knob Creek Straight Rye And Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
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Sam Gay, bartender at Ojai Valley Inn in Ojai, California
Usually, I tend to sip on a beer or a whiskey, surprisingly not generally next to each other. But if I am mixing the pair? Probably something hotter, like Knob Creek Straight Rye and a good pale ale like Sierra Nevada.
Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon And Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch
Osvaldo Vasquez, mixologist at Chileno Bay Resort, Auberge Resorts Collection in Los Cabos, Mexico
Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon with Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch. I like this pairing because this bourbon is also crafted in small batches and it has caramel notes that add to the fermented process of an artisanal beer. Mikkeller is the master of artisanal brewing and it is very interesting to follow them as they look for the unique flavors and ingredients from the places they visit to produce their batch.
Wild Turkey Bourbon And Coors Light
Amanda Swanson, bar manager at Fine & Rare in New York City
I could easily sit here and think of a really beautiful and complex beer and bourbon pairing and go into detail about the tasting notes, but if I’m being perfectly honest, I only drink boilermakers when I’m feeling casual and need to let my brain unwind. My go-to boilermaker is a Coors Light and a Wild Turkey bourbon. The beer goes down like water and the Wild Turkey is quintessentially classic bourbon.
High West Midwinter Night’s Dram and Highwater Campfire Stout
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Matt Hoffa, lead bartender at The Mayfair Hotel in Los Angeles
There’s no combination I enjoy more than Highwater Campfire Stout (S’more Stout) paired with High West Midwinter Night’s Dram. The chocolate, rich, bold taste of the stout pairs perfectly with the spices of the rye whiskey aged in French oak barrels.
Michter’s Small Batch Bourbon And Guinness Stout
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Nikki McCutcheon, beverage director at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge in New York City
I love drinking a stout beer – usually Guinness Stout with Michter’s Small Batch Bourbon. The deep chocolatey and bitter notes in Guinness pairs really well with the spiced caramel notes in the bourbon.
Old Forester 1897 Bourbon And Grayton Staff Pale Ale
Kyle Walter, Bartender at Grayton Beer Brewpub in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
Any day of the week, hands down the Staff Pale Ale from Grayton Beer Company alongside a pour of Old Forester 1897 Bottled in Bond. Have you ever experienced the sunrise and the sunset at the same time? Now you will.
Buffalo Trace Bourbon And J. Wakefield El Jefe Hefeweizen
Hector Acevedo, part ownder at Spanglish Craft Cocktail Bar & Kitchen in Miami
My favorite Boilermaker is El Jefe Hefeweizen from J. Wakefield Brewing with Buffalo Trace Bourbon. El Jefe is a traditional German Hefeweizen but with the addition of fresh coconut flakes and Buffalo Trace gives you lots of toffee and vanilla. What a great combination. Sign me in.
Wild Turkey 101 Rye And Bell’s Hopslam IPA
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Ben Schiller, beverage director at RPM Restaurants in Chicago
Wild Turkey 101 Rye and an Imperial IPA like Bell’s Hopslam. Everyone has heard about Wild Turkey, but I don’t think they are given the love they rightly deserve. Their 101 Rye is full of flavor and perfectly paired with a hoppy, crisp Imperial IPA.
Writer’s Picks:
Glenmorangie 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky And Genesee Cream Ale
We love this combination between a cheap, “dad beer”, and a nuanced, well-made, classic single malt Scotch whisky. You might be surprised that these two pair very well together because the creamy, sweet, corn-rich flavor of the cream ale matches perfectly with the vanilla, cream, and butterscotch sweetness of the Glenmorangie
Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon And Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils
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Bourbon and pilsners might as well have been made for each other. One of our favorite pairings is Elijah Craig Small Batch with its toffee, caramel, and oaky-flavor along with the malty, corn, and refreshing flavors of a can (or pint) of Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils.
