Postscript

Editor's Pick

When it comes to drinks, Southerners enjoy just about anything, so long as it sits on cubes of ice. Iced tea reigns as the table wine of our region, but we also like Coca-Cola, lemonade, coffee, punch, orange juice, and all manner of other drinks on the rocks.

Our fondness for ice may, at least somewhat, explain our preferences in imbibing. While the rest of the country drinks room-temperature wine and hot toddies, the South swoons over drinks famed not so much for their potency as for their cooling effects. The latest iced spirit embraced by Southerners is Cuba's mojito.The mojito (pronounced "moe-HEE-toe") was a favorite drink of Ernest Hemingway. It's something of a cross between a mint julep and a limeade, excepting all that rum, of course. Light, cool, and refreshing, the mojito is the perfect summer drink.

Nearly every swank hotel and restaurant in Florida touts a mojito on their list of specialty cocktails. Ordering one elsewhere in the South may be dicey, but then, such is the penalty of being hip to new fads. Better still, impress your friends by making your own at home. Good luck out there.

A Ritzy Mojito

After sampling almost every mojito in South Florida, I found my favorite at The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, near Miami. The hotel has kindly shared its one-serving recipe with us.

MIX mint leaves, sugar, and lime juice in a small mortar bowl; crush mint.

ADD rum, and stir.

POUR into a glass with ice.

ADD a splash of club soda, and garnish with a mint sprig, if desired.

The hotel also serves their now-famous mojito martini-essentially the same drink but with vodka instead of rum. Watch out!

Summer Bargain

Maybe you've grown tired of hollering for your spouse or children. Perhaps your cell phone bills look like the federal deficit. If so, get thyself a set of walkie-talkies. Yes, the age-old walkietalkie is back in vogue, and prices have been dropping fast. Two years ago, a crummy set could cost $300. Today, you can find a low-end pair for $30. Technology and a little styling have turned them from a battlefield gadget into a small and cute accessory fit for a jaunt to the mall. Our favorite is Motorola's Talkabout 59XX series (scheduled to debut in stores this month), which features noise filters and 99 interference codes for 22 channels (so you don't pick up others hunting for their tots). The suggested retail price is $100. These are perfect for a trip to the beach or an amusement park.

Best Sign of The Month

While sipping a cocktail at a restaurant in Garden City Beach, South Carolina, Laura Prier (of Chicago) snapped this picture outlawing fish disembowelment on the bar.

Michael Patrick, co-manager at the Pier at Garden City, told us that the restaurant put the sign up "because all the Spanish tile on the bar made a good fish-cleaning platform in the mornings. By afternoon, all those sunbaked fish guts were a real mess."

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Jul 2003
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