A great cool beverage for the summer heat

I just got back inside my house after having been forced to sweat in the sogging heat of a very warm Minnesota evening for several hours. I forgot that I had taken my car keys and house keys of my regular key chain (it's not fashionable to have bulky pockets) and grabbed the key chain without keys and locked myself out of the house for two hours. It was incredibly hot today and to make matters worse, humidity was past the point where it's bearable. Granted, today would have been a nice day to be laying on the beach, but I got to spend most of my day in my cool office at work dealing with my computer and its problems.

On my way home from work, I decided to stop by the store and pick up some toothpaste and mouth wash. Well, Rainbow does a great job making people buy more once they're in the store, so I bought some cheese, ham, crackers, and pasta as well. While I was at it, I figured I'll stop by the liquor store next door as well and restock my reserves for the next few months. I bought a bottle of Bacardi Silver, some sweetened lime juice, and a bottle of Southern Comfort. Why am I telling you that? Well, hang on for another paragraph and I'll tell you.

I got home being hot, sweaty, exhausted, and all worn out from a stressful day at work, so I decided to go outside around 7pm when it starts to cool off a bit and enjoy the weather. Of course, I had to get my drink on, find something to read, and needed something to do while reading (I often multi task).

Here's what I came up with:

• Recent GQ to for my reading pleasures (the cover may be questionable)
• iPod and headphones
• Cell phone and headset (not sure how I can always pull that off while listening to music, reading, and drinking)
• ....aaand
• A drink

Now, the real point of this story is that drink of mine. Bear with me another paragraph or so - you won't regret it. I promise. The recent GQ featured three drinks: Rum Fizz, Gin Fizz, and something that I can't remember right now. Last Friday, I went to Friday's (it's a sports bar) with some friends, right after starting to read GQ and finding those drinks. I wrote two of the recipes down and handed them to the bartender. I wanted something rum-based, but he didn't have the right ingredients for the Rum Fizz, so he made the Gin Fizz but with rum substituted for Gin. It was so-so to be honest because he used spiced, brown rum (Captain Morgan).

Today, I decided I'll try it again but make a few changes. Here's the recipe (make a pitcher of it - you won't regret it on a nice, warm summer evening!!):

• 1-2 shots of Bacardi Silver
• 1 shot of sweetened lime juice (from concentrate)
• some Diet Sprite

Combine the rum and the lime juice with about 4-5 ice cubes in a shaker and shake well. Pour into a large glass and add Diet Sprite until it tastes right. It is an ultra-delish drink and one of the best that I've had this year and it is easy and fast to make - even in great quantities if you have some guests to entertain. You can adjust its potency by adding more rum. I'd say a shot of rum and a shot of lime juice can easily be combined with half a can of Diet Sprite.

Cheers!!