Gin & Tonic ice popsicles

 Ice popsicles are not only for youngsters – in fact, these G&T flavoured ones should only be served to adults 😉  ! 

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Even it if won’t help against malaria, a GT ice popsicle might still contribute to one’s well-being

Gin and Tonic (or simply “G&T, as the classic drink usually is referred to in drink-savvy circles) makes for a very tasty sorbet, at least for those of us who don’t mind some alcohol in our ice creams. The good thing with it is that a little alcohol goes a long way, so you should not really be intoxicated unless you really eat loads of it. The sorbet-recipe can be found here, and if we want to serve GT ice pops, they actually need to come with even less alcohol – after all, we do want those lollipops to hold together, right?

As you may know, G&T has a special historic claim to being good for your healthy, at least in the tropics: the bitter quinine traditionally found in tonic water can be used to cure malaria. Adding some gin to the tonic water became a popular way to overcome the bitterness and also lead to widespread prophylactic self-medication throughout, particularly, the British colonies at the time.

Nowadays, however, I fear that those who drink only for the health benefits would have to give it up:  Tonic water is no longer what it used to be – it contains more sugar and far less quinine, and drinking the number of  G&Ts required to produce any significant anti-malaria effects would make malaria the least of your problems.

Bogart with gin

Granted, the possibilities to make ice cream on-board the African Queen were probably minimal. But Gin & Tonic ice pops still remains a much healthier option than enjoying the drink itself.

For those of us who still like our G&Ts because of the flavour rather than for its medical qualities, turning the drink into a sorbet or an ice pop is a splendid solution: all the flavour, and not that much alcohol (really).

So – the next time you plan an adult outdoor event, give a thought to the icy, refreshing GT popsicles!

Gin & Tonic ice popsicles
By: 
 
The adult choice - why bother serving alcohol-heavy drinks when you can hand out lighter, yet flavour-equivalent, G&T ice popsicles straight from the freezer?
Ingredients
  • 6 tablespoons of Gin
  • 500 ml (2 full cups) simple sugar syrup
  • 375 ml (1.6 cup) Tonic water
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • (optional: thin slices of lemon to freeze into the ice popsicles in a decorative nod to the classic drink)
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients, stir, taste and possibly add some more lemon juice if you like.
  2. Make sure the mixture is chilled before filling up your lollipop moulds (it goes without saying that if all ingredients already come straight from the refrigerator, there is no need to chill the mixture further before freezing it).
  3. If you like a little extra visual niceness, drop a thin slice of lemon into each mould and let it freeze into the popsicle.

 

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