It's been raining here in the Boston area for a week (you've probably seen it on the news), but you can also feel the warm weather creeping in. I hate summer with a passion (it's a long story, mostly involving humidity), and one of the very few things that gets me through the months of June, July, and August (besides tennis and Red Sox baseball) are the cold drinks. So here are the eight that help me survive the season of hell:1. Iced tea. No, not the "real" iced tea, made with tea bags and served cold. That stuff just tastes like you left a hot cup of tea out for a few hours and it got cold. No, I mean giant glasses of very cold iced tea, with as much sugar and lemon that Lipton can fit into a giant tub. Oh, I love this stuff.
2. Diet Coke. It's weird, I used to be a 100% Diet Pepsi guy, but somewhere along the line I started buying Diet Coke for some reason and I've never changed back. Oh, Diet Pepsi is fantastic too (though Coke and Pepsi do taste different), but I've just gotten used to Diet Coke, and this is something I always have in my fridge, not just in the summer but all year round.
3. Beer. I try to have at least a six pack of one of these in my fridge: Sam Adams, Red Stripe, or Sierra Nevada.
4. Booze of all kinds. Gin and Tonic, Campari and Soda, Blue Hawaii's. All with ice, sitting in front of a fan, with the door or window open, watching television. Mmmmmmmm.
5. Orange juice. With lots of ice. Yeah, it waters it down, but ice cold orange juice is remarkably refreshing in the summer.
6. Poland Spring spring water. Is it wrong that I put water, that most essential of liquids, on the list after soda, beer, and gin and tonic? Probably.
7. Venti Mocha Frappuccino from Starbucks (no whipped cream). Coffee does things to my stomach that I really don't want to describe here, but this drink suits me just fine, and it really hits the spot after a long walk in the humid city.
8. Border's chai, cold. Unfortunately, this will soon be just a memory.
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