THERE'S more than one way to beat a heatwave, but perhaps the most enjoyable way is to chill out in an air-conditioned pub or bar and sip on a strong cocktail.

That’s something you can do easily at any of Carlisle’s fine cocktail bars, such as This Time, Thin White Duke, Open Mind, and Paradiso, the latter of which spoke about what their most popular cocktails are to give a glimpse into Carlisle’s cocktail palate.

Maisie Harper who manages the bar explained that they have special cocktails often: “We have a 30th birthday group coming in today and she (the birthday girl) only drink blue lagoon-type cocktails, so we’ve made a cheeky vimto cocktail as a special.”

Paradiso’s top five most popular cocktails are, according to Maisie, and their bartenders Megan Craik and David Smith:

1. Pina Colada Mojito - Exactly as the name suggests, this is a blend of pina colada (coconut, rum, Cointreau, and pineapple juice) and mojito (rum, mint, lime and soda).

2. Tipsy Ginger - Maisie claims this is named after herself, and it contains her favourite spirit – tequila. It’s an effervescent mixture of tequila, Chambord, lime and ginger ale.

3. Blue Skies Ahead - Maisie advised drinkers to not be mistaken by this drink’s cutesy blue tinge, it’s in fact the strongest cocktail they serve, containing vodka, blue curacao, and lemon.

4. Gin Fizz - They do many kinds of gin fizzes, but the simple mix of gin, flavourings, and soda is a tough one to beat

5. Sangria Blanco - Maisie said there’s nothing better than sangria on a day like this, and this one is even more refreshing by using white wine in place of the stronger-tasting red.

There is, however, a new cocktail on the menu – at least for a limited time, the News & Star.

Maisie, David and Megan were eager to create a signature cocktail that they were up for naming after our paper.

The News & Star is a twist on the traditional mojito, in that it adds blue curacao and Chambord to illustrate our iconic red and blue colours associated with the paper.

Their bartender Megan made it from scratch, including muddling the limes and mint leaves, expressing their oils with a hearty slap, and topping the drink with the Chambord to let the red trickle down to the blue base.

This cocktail is surely going to be the best of the bunch, but it is only available for a week.

During this week, Maisie said if you bring in that day’s copy of the News & Star or this week’s Cumberland News, you can get £1 off the cocktail and beat the heat the right way!

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