Beer's New Role: Cocktail Mixer

The days of keeping your beer and liquor separate are over, with bartenders crafting crossover drinks that mix beer with other spirits—even wine. “Other countries have been doing this for a long time,” one beer connoisseur tells the New York Times. Creations range from the “Muddy Puddle”—iced espresso with bourbon, stout, and a peanut dust rim—to the beergarita—a margarita with sour ale and framboise.

Some of these inventions serve a purpose, like the “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels”—it tops Pimm’s, Scotch, and lemon juice with beer foam, which gives new purpose to overly-foamy Anchor Steam Beer while also adding “a subtle complexity and character” to the drink, says its creator. But the bottom line, as one bartender puts it? “You sell more beer this way, and you make more money.” (More Jay-ZTV stories.)