Sips of Summer: What to Drink Around Boston Right Now

Photograph by Toan Trinh

Cocktail
Draft Drinks

Pictured above: The quickest way to dole out a well-made libation to a crowd? Put it on tap. The new cocktail bar within Bully Boy’s expanded distilling facility in Roxbury offers two refreshing draft options—a planter’s punch and this gin-lime rickey—to sate visitors who just can’t wait for the more labor-intensive flips and daiquiris.

Beer
Lager

Good news for those suffering from hops burnout: Easy-drinking lagers are on the rise. Brewer’s Fork co-owner Michael Cooney predicts that Notch’s Zwickel Bier, an unfiltered German-style pale lager, will be flowing fast at his beer-focused restaurant this summer.

Wine
Lambrusco

One of the few bubbly wines Americans have yet to fully embrace, fruit-forward sparkling reds from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy are starting to inch onto the scene. Rethink the grape’s sickly sweet reputation with a dry, complex lambrusco, such as Lini 910’s “Labrusca,” available by the glass at Cambridge’s UpperWest.

Spirit
Overproof Rum

Expect to see the letters O.F.T.D.—as in Plantation’s Old Fashioned Traditional Dark rum—on more than a few cocktail menus this season. Try the new tiki-specific blend in high-octane concoctions such as Backbar’s “Tropical Remedy,” with cinnamony Becherovka, Giffard’s banana liqueur, and a smoky Laphroaig rinse.

Frozen Drink
Frosé

Frozen rosé—poised to hit peak popularity this year—has actually been a thing in France for a while, says Frenchie owner Sandrine Rossi. At her South End wine bar, a slushy machine churns out Cinsault rosé with grapefruit juice, and (the next hot trend?) sauvignon blanc spiked with lime.