Though it's become the favorite whipping-boy of candidates for King County Executive, the King County Water Taxi gets more popular every year. The only thing missing on the pleasant little cruise: booze. "Crossing is so short?12 minutes?that there's a very limited window in which they could serve something," notes Chris Arkills, chief of staff for King County Councilmember Dow Constantine, who chairs the county's Ferry District. "We had several conversations with Argosy about doing this last year. The most logical choice would be to serve mini-beers, those seven-ouncers." Arkills says that the Ferry District will revisit whether to serve mini-beers during a trial period "after the summer peak season," conceding that such a belated softening "doesn't help people who want booze on the boat right now." While Washington State Ferry riders have long been able to slake their thirst with cold microbrews, the closest Water Taxi passengers have gotten to cocktail culture is a virgin concoction called the "Constantini," so named for the aforementioned West Seattle councilman, who was instrumental in King County's seizure of the 12-minute run. (The Constantini consists of 7-Up, huckleberry syrup, cranberry juice, and lime.) Once the Water Taxi switches to year-round service, Arkills says boozin' and cruisin' may become "more feasible...Dow, for one, is very open to having any revenue sources."?Mike Seely