Now serving: Rum in the summer

EDITOR’S NOTE: Paul Brewer is exactly the guy we all kinda wish to be: dude can cook, design a living room, write a speech, give a speech, plant, tend to and harvest a garden, shred a wave, manage the SEO on your website, refer you to a local tailor and then wash down the day with a creative cocktail. We’ve always looked to him for classy ways to navigate life’s subtler details without sacrificing our core scores. For this, Paul is the guide. And what better way to meet him than with a simple, summer drink that not one of us can screw up. —Travis

It’s summer, it’s hot, I need a drink. Less than inspired by the modern man next to me on the beach, sweat-soaking his boardshorts and the IPA foaming his beard, I feel like I need something more refreshing, perhaps less cumbersome than the hop-heavy beers that are so hot right now. I’ve got a full day lined up — a craft beer then nap isn’t gonna cut it. 

And while a Mexican lager is a damn good default for June daytime refreshment, I’ve been leaning in on rum lately. Rum was born in heat, it’s made to drink in heat. While I won’t preach this-high-end-rum or that-nuanced-variety (my pockets aren’t deep enough to play that game), I will ask you to skip the cola and the sweet tropical mixers today. But it does need something — you’re not a bottle-swilling pirate here. Rum’s got character, so when it has the right basic mixing partner it’s all you need. 

Over ice, pour the rum you have (I like amber rum as opposed to white or dark or something else), squeeze a lime into it, then top with soda water. Do a Sprite if you’re feeling trashy, coconut water if you’re feeling extra fancy. The beauty is you can make it as strong or weak as you want, so you can sip easy and get some hydrating benefits from the ice and coconut water. Here’s to making it through sunset with your head on straight. —Paul Brewer