Carbomb (beer cocktail)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| An Irish Car Bomb with Guinness and Irish cream. | |
| Type | Beer cocktail |
|---|---|
| Standard drinkware | A pub glass and a shot glass..svg){kind=small} .svg){kind=small} |
| Commonly used ingredients | one-half shot (1 part) of Irish whiskey, 3/4 pint of stout (~24 parts) and one-half shot (1 part) of Irish cream |
| Preparation | see the article |
| Notes | original recipe: shot glass: 1/2 oz of Baileys, 1/4 oz of Kahlua and Irish whiskey fill |
A Car Bomb, also called an Irish Car Bomb, is a beer cocktail which is a variation of the boilermaker. It is made with stout (e.g., Guinness), Irish Cream (e.g., Baileys), and Irish whiskey (e.g., Jameson).
The name refers the drink's Irish ingredients and to the car bombings notoriously used by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) during the Troubles. The Jameson whiskey is floated on top of the Baileys in a shot glass, and the shot glass is then dropped into the stout. Once mixed, the drink must be consumed quickly because it will curdle.
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[edit] History
According to most sources, the Irish Car Bomb was created in 1979 by Charles Burke Cronin Oat, current instructor at the Connecticut School of Bartending, and former owner and bartender of Wilson's Saloon, both in Norwich, CT. The drink evolved from several earlier versions dating back to 1977. The Grandfather, the original idea behind a Car Bomb, was a mixed shot of Bailey's and Kahlúa coffee liqueur. Though Guinness was also being consumed at the same time, the Grandfather was not mixed with the Guinness at the time of its creation. Shortly thereafter, Oat was inspired to add Jameson Irish Whiskey to the shot, which made the shot bubble up vigorously like an explosion, causing him to remark that "the IRA just showed up!" Hence, the newly designed shot was known as the IRA (named after the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and their use of explosions during The Troubles). Two years later while drinking IRAs and Guinness, Oat got the idea to drop the shot into his half-finished pint of Guinness, with the words "Bombs away!", and the Irish Car Bomb was born.
The drink later spread beyond the city of Norwich due to increased advertising by Guinness beginning in the late-1980s. While Kahlúa was part of the original recipe, it is often dropped from the drink today. Some refer to that original recipe as a Belfast Car Bomb.[1][2][3][4]
[edit] Criticism
The name of this beer cocktail is sometimes considered offensive because of its reference to PIRA terrorism.[5] For this reason, some bartenders, particularly those of Irish or English descent, refuse to serve it.
Bombs, and car bombs in particular, were the weapon of choice for the IRA during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Perhaps the most infamous use of car bombs in Ireland's history came on July 21, 1979 — Bloody Friday. In all, 22 bombs — the majority of them car bombs — were set off in the city of Belfast, 19 in just over one hour. The events of Bloody Friday killed nine people (seven civilians) and resulted in 130 injuries.[6] Bloody Friday was the deadliest day of the bloodiest year in the Troubles, as 1972 saw the explosion of 1,300 bombs that killed 479 people, 379 of them civilians.[7][8]
In some areas, people may shout "Tiocfaidh ár lá," a slogan meaning "our day will come" which is associated with PIRA support, as they drop the shot glass into the Guinness.
[edit] In Popular Culture
- In the movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin when Steve Carell's character is taken out on the town to celebrate getting a girl's phone number, one of the drinks they have is an Irish Car Bomb.[9]
- In the movie Ladder 49, several scenes in Looney's Pub include characters drinking Irish Car Bombs and mentioning them by name.[10]
- In the episode The Sweet Science of the CW's Reaper, the devil, acting as the group lead of an alcoholic's support group, asks a woman what her favorite drink is. She replies that it is an Irish Car Bomb, and he tells her to go out and order one that night.[11][12]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Carbomb Creation" (in English). April 16, 2009. http://shakenwithatwist.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/carbomb-creation/. Retrieved on 2009-05-18.
- ^ "The Meaning of an Irish Car Bomb" (in English). March 11, 2009. http://paganmaid-2.livejournal.com/31682.html. Retrieved on 2009-05-18.
- ^ "IrishCarBomb.com" (in English). http://www.irishcarbomb.com/. Retrieved on 2009-05-18.
- ^ "Belfast Carbomb #1" (in English). http://www.barnonedrinks.com/drinks/b/belfast-carbomb-1-6989.html. Retrieved on 2009-05-18.
- ^ Dicke, Scott (March 6, 2007). "History of Irish Car Bombs Isn't Something to Drink To" (in English). University of California, Santa Barbara. pp. Issue 88, Volume 87. http://www.dailynexus.com/article.php?a=13515. Retrieved on 2009-05-18.
- ^ "CAIN: Timeline of Terror" (in English). Cain.ulst.ac.uk. http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/bfriday/nio/nio72.htm. Retrieved on 2009-05-18.
- ^ "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths" (in English). Cain.ulst.ac.uk. http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/sutton. Retrieved on 2009-05-18.
- ^ O'Brien, Brendan (1995). The Long War - The IRA and Sinn Féin. O'Brien Press, Ltd.. pp. 119. ISBN 0862784255.
- ^ The 40-Year-Old Virgin, written by Judd Apatow and Steve Carell, August 19, 2005, viewed on 2009-06-19, approx. 36 minutes into the film
- ^ "Transcript of Ladder 49" (in English). MovieTranscriptions.com. http://www.movietranscriptions.com/213056_Ladder_49_2004DVDRipXviDAC3iNTERNALQiM.html#p1410. Retrieved on 2009-06-19.
- ^ "Reaper Season 2 Episode 3 Recap and Review The Sweet Science" (in English). BeeSight.com. March 17, 2009. http://www.beesight.com/reaper/reaper-season-2-episode-3-recap-and-review-the-sweet-science.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-19.
- ^ Reaper, season 2, episode 3 The Sweet Science, written by Chris Dingess, viewed on 2009-06-19, approx. 6 minutes into the episode
[edit] External links
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The Wikibook Bartending has a page on the topic of |
- Wilson's Saloon, origin of the Car Bomb
