Liquid

IT'S NEVER easy for us to exchange our Friday beach days, breezy tank tops, and fruity cocktails - with or without the umbrella - for itchy knits and closed-toe shoes. That's why we'll be hanging on to the last vestiges of the season with a spirit that just screams "summer": the newest (and ninth) addition to UV's flavored vodka family, UV Lemonade. (Other UV flavors include cherry, vanilla, grape, and orange.) Created by the Minneapolis-based Phillips Distilling Company - an independently owned family business - UV Lemonade can be stirred in with any of your basic mixers or used for a covert spike of your virgin lemonade. Drop a shot into a light beer for a UV Shandy or, if you're feeling kitschy, go with a UV Pink Flamingo: two parts UV Lemonade, two parts cranberry juice, and a splash of triple sec. The spirit, which also happens to be the first pink-lemonade vodka to hit the market, is 30-percent alcohol by volume, which means it's 60-proof: far more potent than that wine cooler that tempted us during the last heat wave. And UV Lemonade is a great value, with a suggested retail price that hovers around $10 per bottle. Pick it up at Kappy's Liquors (10 Revere Beach Parkway, Medford, 781.395.8888), or order it in a cocktail at Roggie's New Age Brew and Grille (356 Chestnut Hill Avenue, Brighton, 617.566.1880). You don't even have to give it up, along with your favorite flip-flops, as the weather cools.