Drink Me!

Fleeting conversations with acquaintances in the depths of winter seem to cover, generally: A) How cold we are; B) How sick we feel; and C) Various remedies for A and B.

 

 

(Lest you think it’s a months-long grumble-fest, rest assured: cinematic gems, cozy clothing, and home-cooking coups are all topics that fall under C.)

 

 

So when my friend Ren urged me to sample Max’s Cold Buster—a hot, frothy concoction of freshly squeezed lemon, ginger, beet, and orange juices laced with honey and a dose of Echinacea—at Uncommon Grounds coffee shop on Route 7 in Great Barrington, I had to give it a shot.

 

“It’s not for the faint of heart,” she warned me.

 

I didn’t think so by looking into the mug, but wow, she wasn’t joking! The cotton-candy-colored foam (not pictured, above; was too intrigued to snap a photo pre-tasting) atop the piping-hot, deep-fuchsia elixir belies its bracing kick. At first it’s vaguely sweet and intensely lemony, followed by a rush of rooty bitterness at the back of the tongue. A second later comes the finish: a brisk spiciness that envelops the whole mouth and fades into a lingering tingle. There is serious ginger shazam! in this twelve-ounce beauty.

 

 

I understood instantly how a few sips of this stuff could KO a sore throat and sniffles.

 

“It’s definitely an acquired taste,” quips Max Rivinus, the drink’s proud inventor and a longtime employee of the hippie haunt. “But when you’re actually sick, it’s the most amazing thing.”

 

 

I’ll say.