Boilermakers
A dive bar specialty becomes new again.
Words & Photos by Gabby Frasier
Formerly a favorite of blue-collar bar patrons, the boilermaker has experienced somewhat of a renaissance in the East Austin bar scene.
Boilermakers consist of a shot served with a beer, with the shot traditionally being whiskey. If there’s one thing Nickel City is known for, however, it’s innovation. Their friendly 11th Street bar’s menu not only honors traditional pub beverages but also bucks tradition with inventive cocktails and a playful boilermaker menu.
Nickel City’s Overhand Toss boilermaker includes a shot of tequila and a “loaded” Tecate beer lined with Cholula hot sauce, salt, and a lime on the can’s rim. A sip of spicy hot sauce mixed with crisp Tecate results in a quick-and-dirty rendition of a Michelada—a far cry from the well-whiskey shot and domestic beer pairings of boilermakers past.
According to co-owner Travis Tober, a similar “loaded” Tecate drink at Basik, a bar in Brooklyn, inspired the Overhand Toss. The boilermaker’s name, however, has a storied history.
In 2014, when the Nickel City concept was still just a twinkle in Travis’s eye, he attended the soft opening of his friend’s new Rainey Street cocktail bar, Half Step. Upon arrival to the bar, Travis asked Half Step owner Chris Bostick for a beer. Chris obliged and overhand-tossed a can of Tecate directly at Travis’s face.
“For some odd reason, Bostick decided to throw the beer overhand instead of underhand. It’s the first thing you learn as a child, obviously; you have to throw a beer underhand,” Travis says with a chuckle. “It completely threw me off.”
As Travis looked up to catch the Tecate, it hit him on his forehead. At this point, it’s probably obvious as to why the Overhand Toss boilermaker includes a dash of bright red hot sauce on the rim. A couple stitches later and nearly five years since the incident, Travis now has a gnarly scar above his eyebrow and a boilermaker on Nickel City’s menu as homage to the incident.
In addition to the Overhand Toss, Nickel City offers boilermaker options such as the Pursue Happiness, which includes a Miller High Life beer and the bartender’s choice of any single barrel whiskey, and the bestselling Nickel City boilermaker consisting of a Coors beer with a shot of Evan Williams whiskey. In fact, the bar’s namesake boilermaker is the only item on the bar’s entire menu marked with an asterisk, revealing that it is so well-loved, it deserves the exclusive status of “Staff Favorite” on the menu.
To Drop or Not to Drop?
Some boilermaker enthusiasts drop their shot of liquor directly into a pint glass of beer before drinking it. According to Nickel City head bartender Amanda Carto, however, their bar’s boilermaker components are best enjoyed in separate glasses.
Contact:
1133 E. 11th St.
nickelcitybar.com
