Shoot for the Silver

Work towards this medal if you’re frequent drinker; you venture out often, like to explore new bars and enjoy sampling unusual cocktails. Still, there’s a lot you don’t know and you’re open to suggestions. Here are some for you to try on for size.

Seek Out Beer Flights
Unless you have a liver of titanium, there’s a limit on the number of pints you can put back in one evening. Enter, beer flights:

their smaller portions allow you to sample several brews without dying of alcohol poisoning. Sullivan’s Publick House offers a small beer-snob approved selection with a fraction of the crowds found at larger establishments. Newly added beers include Southern Tier Pumking and Young’s Double Chocolate Stout. Union Station Brewery (pictured below) brews on-site. Make sure to try some Providence Pale Ale in your five beer flight. Want to try all seven? Add-ons are a dollar and change.

Fancy Up Your Wine Tasting
Ready to kick your wine tasting up a notch? The Providence Wine Academy is a best-kept secret. Events occur at the seventh floor garden room inside the Peerless Building. After a welcome aperitif, there’s a short lesson in the evening’s topic: France’s Loire Valley and Alsace is next up on August 16. You’ll blind-taste 10 examples and nosh on food. Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar (pictured below) boasts 100 wines by the glass, which is pretty insane. Order a wine flight – a trio of two-ounce servings – so that you can work your way through the entire “Fleming’s 100.”

Try Top-Shelf Tequila
While cheap tequila and premium tequila will both get you to the same inebriated state, only the latter will taste delicious. (I’m defining “cheap” as anything less than 100 percent blue agave.) That said, it’s time you upgraded from Sauza. Chilango’s Taqueria (447 Manton Ave., 383-4877) has a top-notch selection of non-mixtos, which you can enjoy atop a horse saddle barstool. Don Jose Tequilas is a welcoming spot that stocks over 100 types of tequila, including Don Julio 1942, a Bourbon-aged Añejo with vanilla flavors and spiced undertones. The owner is aging his own tequila; stop in and ask for a sample.

See an Old Bar In a New Light
A reputation can be a difficult thing to change. The Bar at AS220 is more than just a hipster-haven for catching a live band and drinking a Pabst; it’s also somewhat of a craft cocktail bar, featuring house-infused liquors made with fresh, local fruits and veggies. Some of you may remember Track 84 as “that place with the boxing game and peanut shells on the floor.” While both are now gone, the craft beer selection is better than ever, so order a flight and try them all.

Get Into a Private Bar or Club
Some private bars and clubs are actually open to the public. While you may have bombed your SATs, you can still get into Brown... its Grad Center Bar that is. The GCB is a members-only, on-campus bar that will let you in for a $5 cover, which pays for itself via the cheap beer. Speaking of beer, the selection is impressive and the vibe is Brooklyn-cool. While walking off brunch at Nicks on Broadway, you may have passed the Italo-American Club. The club is private, but its restaurant isn’t. Spirito’s has been known to offer wine dinners featuring a five-course meal and five wines.

Take a New Look at Sangria
There’s something special about sitting outside on a warm day with a pitcher of fruit-filled sangria and a couple of friends. The Grande makes amazing champagne sangria that’s a refreshing spin on the classic. They combine Grandial Champagne, triple sec, Peachtree, St. Germain, orange juice and sliced fruit. Stop in for a late brunch on the weekend (beginning at 2pm) and see for yourself. At Flan y Ajo (pictured above) you BYOB; they make the sangria. The tiny tapas restaurant only has four stools, but there are cozy nooks and comfortable window seats.

Take One More Giant Leap

Try a drink made with top-shelf tequila at El Rancho Grande: The Cantarino combines tequila with lime and grapefruit soda.

Get into a really private club at Choice Social Club, formerly the Black Key Club: Just kidding.

Get all geek squad with your wine drinking at Blush Winebar: Order a flight of wine after browsing Blush’s high-tech tablet menu.