Summer Sipping

Classes may have started, but there are still two weeks of summer. Here are two drinks to enjoy before fall.

The Mojito

I know that plugging mojitos makes me look like a slavish trend-whore, but I was actually ahead of the glitterati on this one. Back at my house in Colorado, the mint grows like a weed, choking out the strawberries and oregano. From July on, it's my nightly ritual to head out after dinner, collect fistfuls of mint, and muddle myself into the final stages of exhaustion. I make them for everyone: family, friends, neighborhood kids, and occasionally my dog. We all sit and drink together on the patio surrounded by star jasmine, lilies, and lavender, and it's better than Valium. Sadly, the mint bed has been overtaxed, and this summer it was reduced to a few square feet of dead, fibrous stumps. Now we have to steal my neighbor's mint in the dead of night. You, however, should find some at the green-market. --BE

1. Find a lot of fresh mint. If you can, use the leaves from two full stalks for each drink.

2. Mix a shot of white rum, two teaspoons of sugar, and two tablespoons of lime juice in a glass. Tear the mint leaves, add them, and muddle (smash) them for a few minutes until they're well crushed.

3. Add a few cubes of ice and top off with seltzer water. Stir to mix.

The Gin & Tonic

Ben may like to work hard for his drink, but to me, nothing says summer like sloth. I take that attitude very seriously when it comes to summertime drinking, and I usually prefer to do nothing more than crack open a bottle of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Still, there is one drink that is essential to enjoying summertime: the gin and tonic. Luckily for all involved, it's only slightly more complicated than using a bottle opener on that beer.

Now, around the Columbia campus, the G&T has lost some of its charm. More often than not you see people drinking sweetened versions out of plastic cups at The 'Stend. That's just blasphemous. To make a real G&T, you need to splurge a little on your gin. I go for Bombay Sapphire, although that's partially because I'm in love with the blue bottle, complete with the picture of Queen Victoria. Also, it requires real lime juice, squeezed straight into the glass--none of that sweetened, bottled Rose's. Finally, you need the right atmosphere. My ideal is red-rock country in southern Utah. There's nothing like sitting outside, surrounded by red cliffs, drinking with Queen Vicky at your side. Since it's a little hard to get there on the weekends, though, sneaking onto your dorm roof top for Friday afternoon G&T's works just as well. You just have to deal with the pigeons.

So, yes, you can have a G&T at The Heights (it's also my well drink of choice), but just once, live a little, and experience this drink as it should be experienced. --CH

1. Fill a tall glass with ice.

2. Pour one shot of gin over ice, add fresh lime juice to taste, fill with tonic water.

3. Garnish with a lime.

4. Forget about classes, drink, and relax.