Every summer has a cooling drink or two associated with it (think of the Negroni slushies at Parson's Chicken & Fish and Stiegl radlers in recent summers), and we're calling 2015's drink of the summer: the spiked mango lassi, the refreshing yogurt-based drink most commonly served alongside Indian or Pakistani food. And you have several Chicago bars to get one, and each of them is using a different spirit.
First up is Billy Sunday, which is serving the Czar's Mango Lassi, a drink that's worth ordering just for the amazing Russian nesting doll it comes in. Handmade for the bar, the wooden doll encloses a mango lassi designed to serve one to three people. The texture is exactly like a traditional lassi—it's super creamy from Greek yogurt, and thinned out with dry vermouth, lemon and rye polugar, which is a vodka-like liquor made with rye. Then it's sweetened with honey and topped with saffron gratine and lime zest. The Czar is $35.
Pub Royale, the new bar from Heisler Hospitality (Sportsman's Club) in the old SmallBar Division space, has an Indian-English theme and it's also serving a spiked mango lassi. Here, the lassi is made with yogurt, mango, honey and bitters, spiked with rum and garnished with sweet paprika and mint. It's frozen and boozier, and for $8 for a glass, one or two of these is the start to a very good night. While it's not as creamy as a traditional lassi, it still helps temper the spicy dishes served at Pub Royale, like the buttered paneer, which has some heat from salted chilies.
Update: We have located a third boozy mango lassi. At BellyQ, the lassi is made with mango puree, gin, St. Germain and yogurt liqueur, and comes garnished with mint and sprinkled with chile flakes. It's $11 and the fruitiest of the three, with tons of fresh mango flavor and a faint hit of spice from the chile. So far, this is the front-runner for the best boozy lassi of the summer. It's only May, though—who knows how many more we'll find?