Ask your bartender

Is it time for summer to arrive yet? Because the answer is still probably 'no', that's as good an excuse as any to give up on the backyard, head downtown, and hit the bars, where you'd be wise to ask for one of the following drinks, suggested by the bartenders who lovingly pour them.

Jay Jones, the Modern
The drink: Opportunist

Word from the bartender: "It's got a rum base”¦and that we freshen with a little lime juice. The body of the drink is something we carry with aloe vera juice, a Korean product we bring in. And then we garnish it with a spear of sugar cane, just to complement the concept of the rum base. So it's got a little bit of sweetness and freshness, and it's got that rejuvenating quality everyone associates aloe vera with.”¦It's easy drinking, but you've got some nice fresh layers of flavour. It's very tropical."

Chris Childs, Au Bar Nightclub
The drink: Caipirinha

Word from the bartender: "It's with cachaí§a, sugar, lime, and that's all muddled together, shaken up, and poured over ice. Thursday nights we sell more than probably anybody else in the city. It's a little bit different, it's light, it's refreshing, and it's something exotic."

Melton Vlassis, Fogg N' Suds
The drink: Fishbowl

Word from the bartender: "We go through a ton of these on Friday nights. We serve three-ounce drinks and you can get anything from mai tais, long islands, paralyzers, caesars, and highballs. You are actually drinking out of a mini fishbowl. People have fun with them. It's a great way to start your weekend with those things."

Terri Anne Welyki, Ceili's Irish Pub & Restaurant
The drink: Irish Carb Bomb

Word from the bartender: "It brings together the beer culture along with liqueurs and other alcohol we have. So it basically consists of Jameson Irish Whiskey and Baileys Irish Cream in a shot glass. And then that is dropped into a half a glass of Guinness, and you basically drink it like a Jí¤ger bomb. It's delicious and almost tastes like chocolate milk."

Barry Rabold, Ginger Sixty-Two
The drink: Sun Yat Sin

Word from the bartender: "It's Limon Bacardi, Apfelkorn [an apple-flavoured liqueur], and aloe vera juice.”¦Really light, refreshing. The aloe vera juice is amazing. It's got bits of aloe vera in it, and so it's almost chunky, like tiny little things that you suck up that are absolutely amazing."