So, you want to squeeze into a bathing suit this summer, but
you don’t feel like sacrificing your favorite liquid accessories to do so? It’s
a tall order, plumpkin, but it’s doable. Of course, you’ll have to make a bit
of a drinking lifestyle switch to swing it, but hey, wouldn’t you rather feel
confident when you hit the beach, instead of feeling, well, beached?
Last summer, “skinny drinks” made our annual Hot 100 list, and
damn if thin isn’t still in. Of course, if you really want to trim down,
cutting the booze out completely is the only way
to go. Perish the thought, we know. Hooray, though, for mocktails, those
punch-less little punches that allow you to strut your stuff at the bar, drink
in hand, but head home at the end of the night with a clear head and a clean
conscience.
The Fresh Fruit-Ade ($6) at 28 Degrees (1 Appleton
Street, Boston, 617.728.0728) is the perfect balance of sparkle and your
favorite summer flavors — fresh lime, mint, and ginger ale over crushed ice
make for a mock mojito that gets its kick from ginger instead of liquor. If
juice is more your thing, try the Nectar of the Gods ($6), featuring peach
nectar, pineapple and cranberry juices, and fresh lime, served 1990s Paula
Abdul style — straight up. (Oh yes, we did.)
Fruity and floral, the No. 44 ($4) at Hungry Mother (233
Cardinal Medeiros Avenue, Cambridge, 617.499.0090) combines mint, simple syrup,
and fresh lemon juice with Peychaud’s bitters to produce a cool summer sipper
that’s light on the tongue and on the belly. Also stellar is the No. 45 ($4),
an elixir made with tonic water, honey syrup, and orange bitters that goes down
smooth and sweet.
Hidden Newbury Street gems are hard to come by, especially if
you’re so familiar with that stretch of the city that you’ve become — yawn! —
jaded about the whole ’hood. But we contend that Trident Booksellers
& Café (338 Newbury Street, Boston, 617.267.8688) is a fine
place to camp out with a beverage while you pore through the pages of a new
acquisition or conspire with friends about your Back Bay adventures. Our
favorite of Trident’s fresh fruit and vegetable concoctions is the Backache
($4.75), a fizzy delight made from ginger root, apple, and seltzer. It’s so
refreshing, so cleansing, so damned delicious, you may swear off of booze
forever — or at least until bikini season is behind you.
