The cool new twist on summertime tipples? Alco-popsicles!

Harry Wallop discovered that alco-popsicles are becoming popular
M&S is selling three G&T sorbet tubs a minute as people rush to buy it
Harry tested a number of alco-popsicles to see if they are worth purchasing

During 2019, as TV comedy Fleabag aired — featuring the ‘hot priest’ and his penchant for canned cocktails — one drink started to fly off the shelves: the Marks & Spencer gin and tonic in a tin.

This summer, M&S has another hit on its hands: the G&T sorbet. It sells three tubs every minute.

M&S is not the only one persuading grown-ups that boozy ice cream is the way to survive the heat. Haagen-Dazs has three flavours all containing real alcohol, while Morrisons is stocking a brand called Speakeasy, which has teamed up with high-end drinks companies to make both an amaretto and a limoncello ice cream.

Even those who failed GCSE science know alcohol freezes at a lower temperature than water (a bottle of vodka or gin freezes at about -27c).

Harry said that frozen cocktails and ice lollies are popular this summer, including the Pimm’s pops

So how is it possible to make frozen cocktails? ‘It is a challenge,’ says Jane Woodhead, who set up Speakeasy with her husband. ‘We have to adjust the recipes, because alcohol has sugar in it, which also affects the freezing point.’

Many of the ice creams or sorbets have an extra dose of xanthan gum, a common stabiliser, to stop the alcohol splitting and dribbling into a pool at the bottom of the tub.

Pops, one of the most alcoholic brands, sells its lollies in Calippo-style packaging. You push up the lolly as you eat it, so it doesn’t matter if it is slightly more slushy than normal.

Most end up being not particularly alcoholic. M&S’s G&T tubs are 1.4 per cent ABV [alcohol by volume] — a touch above a low-alcohol beer. Speakeasy’s limoncello is 1.1 per cent.

‘To be over the drink-drive limit, you’d need to eat something like eight litres in one sitting. That’s an awful lot of ice cream,’ says Jane. Unlike with drinks, food containing alcohol does not need to declare the ABV on the packaging, though most do state it somewhere.

However, any product with more than 0.5 per cent alcohol should be age-restricted. ‘Which explains why I was not allowed to buy M&S’s sorbets at the self-scan checkout until a member of staff had ascertained I was 18-years old. It’s not often you get screened when buying ice cream.’

So which frozen treats are cream of the crop and which are a flop?

AN AFTER-DINNER ZESTY WINNER

Speakeasy Limoncello (£5.50 for 500ml tub, morrisons.com)

Alcohol: 1.1 pc ABV

Speakeasy Limoncello (£5.50 for 500ml tub, morrisons.com) has a distinctive taste- part zesty lemon, part sweet sherbet

Italian after-dinner liqueur limoncello has a distinctive taste — part zesty lemon, part sweet sherbet. Speakeasy has managed to capture the flavour perfectly using the Lazzaroni liqueur as its key ingredient.

And even if you are not a fan of limoncello, this really is a lovely, smooth, grown-up ice cream for summer.

VERDICT: 5/5

FROZEN PIMM’S PACKS A PUNCH

Pops Pimm’s No. 1 (£5 for three popsicles, minimum order £15, wearepops.com)

Alcohol: 4.3 pc ABV

Pops Pimm’s No. 1 (£5 for three popsicles, minimum order £15, wearepops.com) is a frozen cocktail that should have the same kick as a glass of Pimm’s

This is a frozen cocktail that should have the same kick as a glass of Pimm’s, though I struggle to taste any booze. The mint overpowers all the other flavours.

But don’t worry about the alcohol; they’re small and you’d need to eat seven to consume the equivalent of a pint of beer.

Pops are sometimes sold in Waitrose, but you may need to buy them in bulk online.

VERDICT: 2.5/5

JUST THE TONIC TO REFRESH YOU

M&S Gin & Tonic sorbet (£5.25 for four 100ml tubs, marksandspencer.com)

Alcohol: 1.4 pc ABV

M&S Gin & Tonic sorbet (£5.25 for four 100ml tubs, marksandspencer.com) are a great size and Harry said that just 72 calories you could demolish one guilt-free

These dinky tubs are a great size. At just 72 calories per pot, you could demolish one guilt-free. They are quite strong — not in booze but in taste. The overriding flavour is that of a zesty, tonic-heavy G&T, with lots of lime and juniper. Extremely refreshing.

VERDICT: 4/5

PEACHES AND CREAM DREAM

Jude’s Peach & Champagne (£55 for six 460ml tubs, judes.com)

Alcohol: Less than 1.2 pc ABV

Jude’s Peach & Champagne (£55 for six 460ml tubs, judes.com). Harry said that the ice cream is lovely and deliciously smooth but not quite what he hoped for

A limited-edition flavour created to mark this Hampshire company’s 20th birthday, this is a deliciously smooth ice cream. It’s vegan, with coconut oil and cornstarch used to replicate cream and eggs.

I struggle to taste the champagne — you get mostly peach flavour. It’s lovely, but not quite what I’d hoped for.

Jude’s is stocked in many supermarkets, but you have to buy this from its website.

VERDICT: 4/5

PINEAPPLES IN PARADISE

Haagen-Dazs Pina Colada (£4.80 for 460ml tub, tesco.com)

Alcohol: Less than 1 pc ABV

Haagen-Dazs Pina Colada (£4.80 for 460ml tub, tesco.com). Harry said you can taste the rum even though it makes up a small portion of the ingredients list

Pina Colada has become the flavour of summer 2022, with the heady mixture of rum, coconut and pineapple appearing in endless ready meals and puddings in supermarkets.

Haagen-Dazs has embraced the trend, adding this flavour to its small range of alco-ice cream. Though rum makes up a mere 1.5 per cent of the ingredients, you can taste it.

If you like pina colada cocktails, you’ll love this.

VERDICT: 3/5

MOJITO WITH A LIP-SMACKING ZING

Ice Kitchen Mojito ice lolly (£4 for three, ocado.com)

Alcohol: 1.5 pc ABV

Harry said that the Ice Kitchen Mojito ice lolly (£4 for three, ocado.com) is deliciously tasty and you can really taste the booze

Ice Kitchen’s co-founder is Cesar Roden, whose grand-mother Claudia is the food writer responsible for introducing Middle Eastern cuisine to Britain in the 1970s.

He must have inherited her food genes because these lollies are seriously tasty.

They have a lip-smacking lime zing and get the balance between sweet and sour just right. And, although the rum makes up just 4 per cent of the ingredients, you can really taste the booze.

VERDICT: 5/5

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