My Summer Non-Wine Beverage Of Choice

May 4th, 2010

This past weekend, it was hot. It was July/August hot. I really, really hate hot weather and honestly, I’d rather have snow any day of the week over the heat (that’s the New Englander in me). Because of the circumstances, I needed a beverage that was ice cold, refreshing, and tasty. In that situation, I opted to go for my summer standby. It’s not wine, it’s not beer, and it’s not hard liquor. My favorite summer beverage is Twisted Tea.

It has everything good about a cold glass of iced tea but with the added bonus of 5% alcohol. It comes in the convenient 6-pack like beer, but with none of the carbonation. I enjoy it as much as wine but it’s something I don’t have to think about and sometimes that’s a nice change so I think you catch my drift. I think you’re picking up what I’m putting down.

It’s delicious, light, and refreshing. It pairs with everything and everyone seems to like it. It’s perfect for a hot day spent trying to cool down and a cook out with burgers and hot dogs. I’ll never fully abandon my love (wine) for this stuff, but in the summer, I think I’m going to have to make that choice a few times.

I know I’m not the only wino who strays away for some other delicious adult beverage. What’s your summer go-to drink? Or even your favorite non-wine drink?

Filed under: Uncategorized Comments (11)
  • http://passionatefoodie.blogspot.com/ RichardA

    Though the Twisted Tea is tasty, it suffers from the same problems as wine coolers and similar products. Too much sugar. The 12.2oz bottle of Twisted Tea contains 220 calories, more than a 16oz can of Coke. The tea also contains 31grams of sugar, the equivalent of about 8 teaspoons of sugar. So I don't drink it too often.

    • http://www.thewineingwoman.com/ Amanda Maynard

      Twisted Tea Light is only 115 calories and it's still good. That's about the same as many beers.

  • http://twitter.com/jlaurenti jlaurenti

    Malternatives and wine coolers get a bad wrap. I treat them the same way I treat soda. Am I going to pound six of 'em down in an evening? Probably not. Do I think they're tasty? Oh yeah.

    Plus, if you drink one to be seemingly ironic (easy to do if you drink “legit” stuff all the time)… ladies dig it. Yep.

    • http://www.thewineingwoman.com/ Amanda Maynard

      Well, I could drink a ton of Twisted Teas, but you're right, I usually don't. They're delicious and less cloying than a lot of others that I've found.

      I wouldn't know about drinking them to be ironic and subsequently picking up ladies. I'll leave that to you.

    • http://www.thewineingwoman.com/ Amanda Maynard

      Well, I could drink a ton of Twisted Teas, but you're right, I usually don't. They're delicious and less cloying than a lot of others that I've found.

      I wouldn't know about drinking them to be ironic and subsequently picking up ladies. I'll leave that to you.

  • kristidavis

    Oh, i just can't drink TEA! I just don't like it :) The label is nice though.

    • http://www.thewineingwoman.com/ Amanda Maynard

      To each their own, but I personally love tea. A nice cold glass of iced tea is great on a summer day, so this seemed like a natural progression. What is it that you like to drink on those hot summer days?

      • kristidavis

        I'm thinking plain lemonade. Have you ever tried a splash of lemonade in your tea? My Mom loves it that way.

        • http://www.thewineingwoman.com/ Amanda Maynard

          Oh yeah, that's super delicious! It's my favorite behind iced tea.

  • http://www.suburbanwino.com suburbanwino

    alright! glitch fixed. I can comment again.

    If you like this, you should definitely try making a southern favorite: The John Daly. Ever heard of an “Arnold Palmer”? It's just a mix of iced tea (the “sweet” is assumed 'round these parts) and lemonade. The “John Daly” puts a boozy thumbprint on the golf-centric beverage: just mix sweet-tea flavored vodka with lemonade, and proceed with caution.

    For me, though, my favorite non-wine summer drink (with all due respect to delicious beer) is probably a proper Texas margarita: good tequila, fresh squeezed lime juice, and orange juice on the rocks. And you gotta be able to taste that tequila.

    • http://www.thewineingwoman.com/ Amanda Maynard

      SO happy to see a comment from you :-) Glad the glitch got fixed, whatever it was.

      I've never had sweet tea. *ducks* I know, I should. You and your southern ways. Up here, if you order iced tea, you often get it unsweetened, and I've grown to love it that way. Anyway, that sounds kind of delicious in an extremely high alcohol content way, and I'm not shy. I will try that at some point this summer, for sure. Sounds refreshing.

      The margarita route doesn't sound too shabby, either. The most important part is the *fresh* lime juice. I hate the syrupy crap they use sometimes that tastes awful. The real ingredients are where it's at.


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