Lime Cooler

"A vacation in a glass". "Effervescent." "Perfect for any night of the week." "Perfect for any afternoon of the week." (Editor's note: Which reminds us, it's afternoon now, so should be a good time to make good on the words we write, no?)

These are just some of the rave reviews the Lime Cooler garners. And all for a simple drink that needs, in its most basic iteration, lime juice, tonic water and a wedge of lime. There's no fancy mixology skill involved either. (Editor's note: Take that, Cocktail-era Tom Cruise!) You simply take a Collins glass filled with an appropriate amount of ice, pour in the lovely, tarty lime juice. Top it off with tonic water. Stir (but gently, gently!), garnish with the lime wedge and lo and behold! The Lime Cooler Is Born.

There's not much to this drink in terms of history or origin stories: we suppose people realised that anything as refreshing as lime juice could only be made better with the addition of effervescent liquids like soda or tonic water and sparkling wine. This is also why you'll find variations aplenty on the Lime Cooler: you have ginger-lime coolers, mint-lime coolers, virgin lime coolers, berry-lime coolers; the permutations are myriad and many. Add some white rum and sugar to the mix and you have yourselves a mojito. (Editor's note: And we all know just how cool and refreshing that is, on a sunny day, or a sultry night, or a lazy weekend, or a fraught break between work...err, where were we?)

Anyway, if you'd like to know how to stir up some of these Lime Cooler alter egos, here's a lowdown:

For a Ginger & Lime Cooler, you need —

1-1/2 cups sugar; a 5-inch ginger piece, peeled and sliced; zest of eight limes; juice of eight limes; 1-1/4 cup vodka; 1/4 cup triple sec

The method for making this cooler, according to Duo Dishes, entails —

"Pour the sugar and 1-1/2 cups water into a sauce pan and cook over medium high heat until it forms a thin syrup; for approximately 7-10 minutes. Remove the sauce pan from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Pour into a glass jar or bottle and add the lime zest and ginger nub. Set aside to steep and cool completely. In a large pitcher, stir the lime juice, vodka and triple sec together with 5 cups of water. Once the ginger lime syrup is ready, remove the ginger and pour the syrup in the pitcher. Stir well. Serve over ice with a few slices of lime."

Sounds doable? We think so too!