Hot nights, cool drinks

The Baltimore Sun

Some summer nights, a plain old beer just won't do.

On the hottest evenings, you need quick relief in the form of brisk mixed beverages.

Here are five mixed drinks local bars offer as summer specialties. Some of them are crisp, others are fruity, but all are refreshing ways to cool down after a long, humid day.

CAPTAIN LARRY'S 601 E. Fort Ave.; 410-727-4799

Drink: Dark and Stormy

Ingredients: Goslings rum and ginger beer, served on ice in a pint glass

Cost: $6, but half-price when it's raining

"When Captain Larry owned [the bar], he always had Goslings, so we decided to make that our signature drink here," owner Ivars Balodis said. "I think that rum is definitely a summer drink. It's on the sweet side, and it's not too heavy."

ROCKET TO VENUS 3360 Chestnut Ave.; 410-235-7887

Drink: Peach Core

Ingredients: Stoli Peach Vodka and grapefruit juice, served over ice in a highball glass

Cost: $4.75

"It is a little bit tart," said bartender Christopher Toch. "It tastes like the flesh that surrounds the middle of the peach -- right around the core."

JOE SQUARED PIZZA & BAR 133 W. North Ave.; 410-545-0444

Drink: The Jimmy Smits (named after the actor who played Victor Sifuentes on the TV show L.A. Law)

Ingredients: Stoli Peach Vodka, grenadine, Triple Sec, pineapple juice and orange juice, served on ice in a large rocks glass

Cost: $5

"I just made it up one night on a busy night for a nice couple," said bartender Jimmy Sherman. "They drank a lot of it, and now other people are drinking it. ... They just wanted something pink and fruity."

THE DEN 3327 St. Paul St., second floor; 410-243-9308

Drink: Lychee-tini

Ingredients: Lichido liqueur, vodka, a splash of Midori and cranberry, garnished with a lychee fruit stuffed with a cherry, served in a cocktail glass

Cost: $6.95

"If someone comes up and says, 'I want to try something interesting,' I'll make one for them," said bartender Alex Lo.

WOODY'S RUM BAR & ISLAND GRILL 832 S. Broadway, third floor; 410-563-6600

Drink: Mojito

Ingredients: three lime wedges, eight or nine mint leaves, simple syrup, rum, soda water and a splash of Sprite, served on ice in a large glass

Cost: $5.75

"It's just a very refreshing drink, with the lime and the soda water and the mint," said bartender Christian Wilkins. "The fruitier ones -- they're good, strong rum drinks ... but they're not as refreshing as a mojito is."

sam.sessa@baltsun.com

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