{"id":4274,"date":"2026-06-05T08:28:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T08:28:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/?p=4274"},"modified":"2026-06-05T08:28:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T08:28:18","slug":"a-drinks-experts-take-on-match-day-pairings-for-the-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/?p=4274","title":{"rendered":"A Drinks Expert\u2019s Take on Match-Day Pairings for the World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our resident drinks expert Alice Lascelles reveals what she’ll be sipping on during the World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"world<\/div>\n

But\u00a0on laid-back summer evenings\u00a0the to-and-fro between hard\u00a0liquor and ice-cold beer is\u00a0often\u00a0what\u00a0I crave.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Germany\u00a0they call\u00a0it\u00a0a\u00a0herrengedeck<\/em>. In Scotland\u00a0they call it\u00a0a ‘hauf\u00a0and a\u00a0hauf’ (half and a half). In Korea, they\u00a0drop their\u00a0shot of soju\u00a0actually\u00a0into\u00a0<\/em>their\u00a0lager to make\u00a0a\u00a0somaek,\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0the Korean\u00a0answer to a Depth Charge.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In America, of course,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0known as a ‘boilermaker’ \u2013\u202fa reference to\u00a0the\u00a0drink\u2019s\u00a0blue-collar origins,\u00a0and the fact it was a\u00a0favorite fortifier of\u00a0locomotive engineers, or boilermakers, after a hard day\u2019s work.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

See also:\u00a0<\/em>Clase Azul Captures the Spirit of the 2026 World Cup with $1,700 Release<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Experimental
Experimental Cocktail Club\u2019s housemade pickle beer \u00a9Experimental Cocktail Club<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What makes a good pairing?\u00a0If you\u2019re doing it right\u00a0each\u00a0sip\u00a0should leave\u00a0you\u00a0wanting\u00a0a little bit\u00a0more\u00a0of the other. Drinks\u00a0that compliment each other\u00a0in weight and flavor often do this best: heavy\/light, warming\/fresh, sweet\/salt.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bourbon and lager\u00a0is\u00a0a classic combination\u00a0for this reason\u00a0\u2013\u202fthe former is sweet and spicy, the latter crisp and dry.\u00a0Try a mid-weight\u00a0bourbon\u00a0such as\u00a0Michter\u2019s\u00a0Bourbon<\/a>\u00a0or Woodford Reserve\u00a0with\u00a0a\u00a0hoppy\u00a0brew\u00a0like\u00a0Pilsner\u00a0Urquell.\u00a0Heaven Hill is so devoted to boilermakers\u00a0it\u00a0runs\u00a0a competition every year, challenging\u00a0bartenders\u00a0to come up with evermore creative pairings.\u00a0The competition\u2019s organiser Chris Smith recommends Evan Williams or Elijah Craig as\u00a0the perfect partner for a Pils.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

See also: A City-by-City Guide to the Best Hotel Suites for the 2026 World Cup<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

In the market for something\u2026\u00a0trashier? Then pair your whiskey with\u00a0a\u00a0down-and-dirty\u00a0pickle beer:\u00a0Donna\u2019s Pickle Beer<\/a>\u00a0has gained a cult following in the US. In London, meanwhile, the\u00a0Experimental Cocktail Club Chinatown<\/a>\u00a0serves a\u00a0housemade\u00a0pickle beer based on the excellent Braybrooke Pilsner, alongside shots of\u00a0fancy\u00a0cognac.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Agave spirits\u00a0and\u00a0beer\u00a0are also made for each other. Especially\u00a0when\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0served, as\u00a0they often\u00a0are\u00a0in Mexico, with a dish of\u00a0juicy,\u00a0sal\u00a0de\u00a0gusano-dusted orange wedges on the side. Try Quiquiriqui\u2019s pine-y single estate\u00a0Tobala<\/a>\u00a0with a well-chilled\u00a0Cervesa\u00a0Victoria<\/a>\u00a0(which\u00a0flows\u00a0like water\u00a0in Mexico) or\u00a0Modelo Especial<\/a>\u00a0as a chaser.\u00a0At Side Hustle in London<\/a>\u00a0they pair the hard-to-find\u00a0Fortaleza Reposado Winter Blend<\/a>\u00a0tequila with a taster of Krug Champagne. \u201cThe acidity and yeasty notes of the champagne compliment the\u00a0bolder,\u00a0oak flavors of the tequila\u00a0\u2014 it\u00a0it\u00a0works the other way around,\u201d says\u00a0NoMad\u00a0head of bars Maxim Schulte.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"athletic
\u00a9Athletic Brewing <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

New York<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0Katana\u00a0Kitten<\/a>\u00a0specialises in\u00a0boilermakers with a Japanese\u00a0accent. Suntory\u2019s\u00a0easy-drinking\u00a0Toki blended whisky\u00a0is\u00a0paired with a\u00a0lager;\u00a0while\u00a0a\u00a0shot of\u00a0yuzu\u00a0sake\u00a0partners up with an\u00a0Other Half IPA. At the\u00a0innovative\u00a0Oddball<\/a>\u00a0bar in Alphabet City, meanwhile, you can sip an\u00a0Umenoyado\u00a0Green Tea\u00a0Umeshu\u00a0(plum sake) alongside a Farm One lager brewed with lemon basil.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

NYC\u2019s award-winning\u00a0Superbueno<\/a>\u00a0bar\u00a0has created a\u00a0riff\u00a0on its signature boilermaker, Dashi Papi,\u00a0for every\u00a0match in the soccer World Cup.\u00a0For the USA vs Australia game, for example, they\u2019ve laced a shot of Don Julio 1942 with Aussie vegemite,\u00a0while\u00a0the Mexico vs Czechia game\u00a0sees the tequila laced with hints of cherry\u00a0and\u00a0caraway.\u00a0But the no-frills ‘beer and a bump’ remains, in the words of head bartender Keith Moffitt, \u201cthe ultimate old-school bartender\u2019s choice.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

See also:\u00a0<\/em>At The World Cup 2026, Is Soccer Finally Due Its High Fashion Moment?<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Boilerfaker\u00a0<\/em>\u2013\u202fwhich\u00a0sees a\u00a0full-strength\u00a0spirit paired\u00a0with a\u00a0non-<\/em>alc\u00a0beer \u2013\u202fhas\u00a0lately become one of my favorite drinks. You get all the refreshment and flavour\u00a0of\u00a0the real thing but keep\u00a0a reasonably clear head.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

America\u2019s number one non-alc\u00a0brewer\u00a0Athletic Brewing\u00a0recently\u00a0created\u00a0a\u00a0superb\u00a00.5 percent\u00a0abv\u00a0red ale,\u00a0Clock End<\/a>,\u00a0for Premier League\u00a0champions\u00a0Arsenal\u00a0(who also happen to be my team).\u00a0I\u2019ll be sipping this, while I watch the\u00a0World Cup\u00a0games,\u00a0with\u00a0a\u00a0sweet-and-smoky\u00a0dram of\u00a0Lagavulin\u00a016<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

At\u00a0Trick Dog<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0San Francisco\u00a0they do a\u00a0fully non-alc\u00a0pairing\u00a0of\u00a0Guinness 0.0\u00a0and\u00a0a shot of cold brew \u2013\u00a0guaranteed to pick you up whether\u00a0you\u2019re grafting on a locomotive\u00a0or\u00a0simply watching the TV.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our resident drinks expert Alice Lascelles reveals what she’ll be sipping on during the World Cup.\u00a0 But\u00a0on laid-back summer evenings\u00a0the to-and-fro between hard\u00a0liquor and ice-cold beer is\u00a0often\u00a0what\u00a0I crave.\u00a0\u00a0 In Germany\u00a0they call\u00a0it\u00a0a\u00a0herrengedeck. In Scotland\u00a0they call it\u00a0a ‘hauf\u00a0and a\u00a0hauf’ (half and a half). In Korea, they\u00a0drop their\u00a0shot of soju\u00a0actually\u00a0into\u00a0their\u00a0lager to make\u00a0a\u00a0somaek,\u00a0or\u00a0the Korean\u00a0answer to a Depth Charge.\u00a0\u00a0 In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","beyondwords_generate_audio":"","beyondwords_project_id":"","beyondwords_content_id":"","beyondwords_preview_token":"","beyondwords_player_content":"","beyondwords_player_style":"","beyondwords_language_id":"","beyondwords_title_voice_id":"","beyondwords_body_voice_id":"","beyondwords_summary_voice_id":"","beyondwords_error_message":"","beyondwords_disabled":"","beyondwords_delete_content":"","beyondwords_podcast_id":"","beyondwords_hash":"","publish_post_to_speechkit":"","speechkit_hash":"","speechkit_generate_audio":"","speechkit_project_id":"","speechkit_podcast_id":"","speechkit_error_message":"","speechkit_disabled":"","speechkit_access_key":"","speechkit_error":"","speechkit_info":"","speechkit_response":"","speechkit_retries":"","speechkit_status":"","speechkit_updated_at":"","_speechkit_link":"","_speechkit_text":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}