Now that summer is over, it’s important that we all focus on staying healthy through the fall and winter, both physically and mentally. One method for avoiding Seasonal Affective Disorder and generally maintaing your sanity through the dark seasons is to openly pretend it’s summer. Some people do that by wearing sandals in the snow, or piling on the bronzer in January. Or you can be like me and order cocktails that taste like summer when it’s dark by 4:00pm. My new favorite place for unseasonal drinking is Paratii Craft Bar in Ballard, especially from 5:00-7:00pm Monday through Friday, when they host a happy hour that you absolutely need to check out. Here’s a recap of what happened when the Yay-Today team visited Paratii and a chance to win a $30 gift certificate to the home of the best caipirinha in town.
We visited Paratii a few weeks ago to celebrate Barrie’s impending wedding. It was my job to figure out where 15 women who didn’t all know each other very well could enjoy some drinks and dirty talk, wish our dear friend the best and not, at any point during the night, force anybody to wear any penis-themed accessories or tiaras. I contacted Michael, the bar manager at Paratii, who suggested a cahaca tasting. (Cahaca is the national liquor of Brazil, made from sugarane juice. Think rum but more complex and without the traumatic college memories.) This was an EXCELLANT suggestion. Michael walked us through 8 different varieties of cahaca and then taught us how to make our own caipirinhas tailored to our own sweetness preferences.
To soak up the tasting, we also took advantage of the $2 and $3 food specials Paratii features. DO THIS. Yucca fries, glazed cashews, and these amazing mango-chevre crostini. Delicious.
Oh, and if you aren’t a caipirinha fan (I guess there is somebody out there who can’t live on lime, cahaca and sugar alone), Paratii’s happy hour features a variety of exceptionally pretty (and tasty) $7 cocktails, like this:
Try drinking that in November and feeling sad. Not possible.
The yay-today team in action
Now you see why Paratii Craft Bar is more than just a pretty bar with great live music and happy hour specials- it’s your preventive medicine this winter. Want to spend a chilly afternoon warming up over some tropical cocktails and yummy food for FREE? The nice folks at Paratii have given us a $30 gift card to give away to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment below telling us YOUR favorite tropical cocktail and we’ll pick a random winner on Thursday morning.
Good luck everybody! Have other great happy hour tips you want to share with us? Holla at us on facebook or talk to us on twitter.
My fav tropical cocktail… hmmm, I would say a stone fruit summer sangria. Does that count? Cherries, peach slices, dry white wine, and apricot brandy. Would love to try Paratii’s concoctions!
My favorite tropical cocktail? A freshly blended pina colada!
My favorite tropical drink is the Moscow Mule. Ginger, Lime, Vodka… simple and bright. And really delicious.
Dark’n’ Stormy:
dark rum +ginger beer+Lime wedge=YUM
Pisco Sour though I haven’t had one in ages….need to put that on the to do list
Had an awesome Negroni the other day. Tanqueray, Campari, Cranberry and Vermouth.
Mojito please! I’m happy to have someone else muddle this for me.
Someone made Palomas at a party I was at recently…tequila + grapefruit juice. Yum.
Oh that would have to be a scratch magarita
Rum and pineapple juice.
Nothing beats the winter blues like a miami vice: half strawberry daquiri, half pina colada. Yes, you can have your cake and drink it too
A Tropical Itch! Great tiki drink:
151, dark rum, burbon,orange curacoa Passionfruit juice and agnostua bitters!
This is very unoriginal but I will never get over my love for Pina Coladas! There is nothing any better in my mind!