*LUPEC Boston’s latest ruminations, in case you missed ‘em in this week’s Dig.
by Pink Gin
The holiday season got you down? Can’t cope with the T anymore? Still waiting for a late paycheck? Getting through a romantic break-up? Wondering what do drink after you’ve sent in your anonymous gripe?
The Boilermaker, of course.
A series of in-depth interviews with John Gertsen of Drink yielded the following:
“I believe that all of the earliest saloon drinking was merely some strong whiskey and good ale. It makes perfect sense to me that someone eventually put the two together, kinda like those old Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup commercials. One thing that is most certain is that many unions, including the Brotherhood of Boiler Makers and Iron Shipbuilders, met frequently in Saloons. According to turn-of-the-century sociologist, Royal Melendy, ‘The Hotels… do not want the man with the soiled clothes and the calloused hands in their rooms, They are forced to meet in the saloons, or in rooms above’. As a saloon-keeper, I find the boilermaker to be an effective drink for all classes, including those with clean clothes and smooth hands. We offer Old Overholt Rye and a Reading Premium Beer as our house boilermaker.”
Well, when I’m at his saloon doing my research on boilermakers I prefer the Old Overholt with a Turbodog. Nevertheless, with kind regards to Mr. Gertsen and the resident beer experts on the next page and everybody else with an opinion, we’d like to nominate this combination as a boilermaker worthy of the Dig and any of your darkest moments:
OH CRUEL WORLD
1 40 oz Haffenreffer Private Stock Malt Liquor
1 “generous” shot Old Overholt Rye
Sure you can drop that shot into the beer glass if you like; we prefer the beer as a chaser.
It’s all-American, it’s even old Boston (as the remaining ‘Fenreffer’ stack at the brewery complex in JP proudly attests), and it will cure what ails you.
Check out these sites for more opinions or add your own below!
Cin-cin!
www.falstaffbrewing.com/haffenreffer.htm
Old Overholt Page on Wikipedia
fancybrandy
Hanky Panky
joseypackard
Pink Lady
Pinky Gonzales
Hoskins
thepinkgin
Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails - Boston 