E-Mail This Article to a Friend Summer in a glass Local bartenders serve up seasonal fruits and herbs with a twist BY GENEVIEVE RAJEWSKI

Let’s face it: nothing says summer like berries, watermelon, and herbs fresh from the farm stand. But it can also be a bit of a hassle giving up your parking space and fighting traffic. Fortunately, now you can lounge and still savor a taste of summer’s bounty — thanks to the fruits of local mixologists’ labors.

Bartender Tammy Lee says West Side Lounge offers a number of fruit-based summer drinks ($8), including 888 Vodka infused with pineapple and served straight up, and a fresh-watermelon margarita that "tastes like a Jolly Rancher." A Champagne-based royal mojito and a mojito made with vanilla-bean-infused rum both put a new twist on the fresh-mint cocktail. And Lee notes that a barley-based shochu — a sake-like distilled Japanese spirit — served on the rocks with muddled strawberry makes for either a sweet end to dinner or a preprandial cocktail.

City Bar in the Lenox Hotel has also recently created new cocktails ($9–$12) showcasing fresh herbs and fruit, says bar manager Trina Sturm. The Sienna is a pineapple-basil martini featuring Absolut Citron, mango and pineapple vodkas, and muddled basil. The Salsa taps cilantro, a cocktail onion, tequila, Bloody Mary mix, Tabasco sauce, and a splash of lemon juice to raise the summer tomato’s status a peg or two. Sturm notes that several other drinks feature the bar’s infused rums and vodkas, which are aged on-site for at least three months before being strained. These include the tequila julep — a heady brew made with mint and tequila that has been infused with mint, mango, white peppercorns, and pineapple — and the tiki tonic, which delivers the same infused tequila mixed with passion-fruit purée, pineapple juice, and rum that has been infused with ginger, cardamom, and lemon peel.

At UpStairs on the Square, head bartender Lolly Mason is known for inventing special cocktails ($7–$13) to celebrate holidays, such as the Skyrocket, a basil-strawberry-banana martini created for the Fourth of July. However, even the regular drink menu boasts a number of summery standouts. The Jackie O is made from Stoli Ohranj, fresh apricot nectar, fresh lemon juice, crème de cassis, and Champagne, and the Jamaican Me Crazy features Stoli Ohranj, cointreau, and fresh-squeezed orange and pineapple juice.

Finally, skip picking your own berries in favor of drinking some that have been well prepared by others. Choices around town abound, including Bomboa for its mora caipirinha ($8.50), which features blackberry purée; Silvertone for its raspberry-infused vodka martini ($8); and Cuchi Cuchi for its blueberry-lemon martini ($10) and blackberry cosmo ($10).

Where to find them:

• Bomboa, 35 Stanhope Street, Boston, (617) 236-6363; www.bomboa.com

• City Bar, Lenox Hotel, 710 Boylston Street, Boston, (617) 536-5300; www.lenoxhotel.com/dining/citybar.htm

• Cuchi Cuchi, 795 Main Street, Cambridge, (617) 864-2929; www.cuchicuchi.cc

• Silvertone, 69 Bromfield Street, Boston, (617) 338-7887.

• UpStairs on the Square, 91 Winthrop Street, Cambridge, (617) 864-1933; www.upstairsonthesquare.com

• West Side Lounge, 1680 Mass Ave, Cambridge, (617) 441-5566.