What Do They Drink in Boston?

We're on our way to Boston in a few days for a week's holiday. I've never been there before, and I have one burning question: what do you suppose they drink there?

Boston, of course, is home to the original tea partiers. But they didn't drink the tea. Quite the opposite: they threw it into the harbour, and I like to think their revolutionary zeal was primed with a libation or two before they headed out for the evening's festivities.

I suspect they know a thing or two about cocktails in Boston, because the two-piece glass and metal shaker preferred by professional bartenders is known as a Boston Shaker (the other style of shaker you frequently see with the screw-on cap and strainer is called a cobbler shaker).

Consulting a few cocktail books produces a good omen: there are several cocktails with Boston in their names. The Boston Cocktail (gin, apricot brandy, lemon juice, and grenadine) is perhaps a bit sweet for the heat of July. The Boston Cooler sounds more like it though: white rum, lemon juice, simple syrup, and club soda in a tall glass with lots of ice. And there are Boston versions of those old classics the Sidecar and the Sour. But like the Boston Cocktail, perhaps better saved for cooler days or evenings.

They obviously know their beer in Boston: Samuel Adams Boston Lager was one of the beers that began the American craft beer renaissance a quarter century ago. Named for a signer of the American Declaration of Independence, it's on my Top 10 Great Beers of the World list. The company that brews it, the Boston Beer Company, makes a range of seasonal and specialty brews. And a trivia note: Pawtucket Patriot Ale, the beer quaffed by Peter Griffin and his pals on Family Guy is said to have been inspired by Samuel Adams, though an episode of the show features a Willie Wonka-like Pawtucket Pat and a brewery run by Chumbawumbas.

We're not actually staying in Boston, but rather in Waltham, about 20 kilometres up the Charles River. Known as the "Watch City", it was a centre of clock and watch making for a century beginning in the mid-1800's. Like me, you may have a vague memory of having seen the name Waltham on a clock somewhere. Today, Waltham boasts the Watch City Brewing Company, a brewpub with an adventurous streak. The latest video on their website features a tasting of their Bacon Cask Beer. You can click on the link to find out how they make it and how it tastes. Needless to say, Watch City Brewing is on my "must do" list in Waltham.

And of course, no trip to Boston would be complete without a visit to that iconic saloon where everybody knows your name, Cheers. Actually the Bull and Finch, it's on all the tours, so I'm looking forward to bellying up to the bar just like Norm and Cliff did. And just like Norm, when asked what I'd say to a beer, I'll reply, "Daddy wuvs you!"