Late Summer Genius Move: Stick A Popsicle In Your Booze

Labor Day looms, just a hop, skip, and a jump down the calendar. While the arrival of fall absolutely does not make drinking summery things weird—drink a Mai Tai or a Julep or a freakin' Hurricane whenever you want, you're an adult, I love a November margarita, no judgment—it does make it a lot less likely that one might fancy such a beverage on the regular. And that, dear Takeout reader, is why I'm here to suggest you bid summer adieu by doing something very silly with me. Do you have a prosecco that's good-not-great, or even just okay? Pop a popsicle in it, upside-down.

I first learned this trick from my friend Wally Andersen, a bartender at Rogers Park Social in Chicago, Illinois. He makes a very fancy cocktail that involves a tamarind paleta, and it's delicious. That's not what I'm suggesting, though it's very good. No, this is a lot less sophisticated.

1. Take prosecco (or vodka, or gin, or Cava, or tequila, you get the idea) and put it in a glass. Add ice if it's a spirit, you fancy person.
2. Pull a popsicle out of the freezer. Unwrap it. Maybe break off a little piece if you want. It's your popsicle. No rules here.
3. Stick it in the glass, upside-down.
4. Avoid poking yourself in the eye while you drink.
5. Enjoy.

The cool thing—besides the fact that doing this looks, to use the technical term, friggin' festive—is that since the popsicle will melt gradually, the taste of whatever you're drinking changes as you drink. It's also super easy to upgrade on your own. Fancy bitters? Go for it! Fresh fruit? Hell yes! A fruity or floral liqueur? Sounds delicious! Flower on top? Again, so fancy!

But mostly, you just stick a popsicle in your glass and then drink. It's fun and dumb and a very easy way to mask the taste of a not-terrific bubbly wine, should one cross your path. And if you drink fast, then congratulations, you've got a booze-infused popsicle to eat.

And if you're using a champagne flute and a very narrow popsicle, then it looks especially cool—and you have an easy excuse to keep topping off your glass, as you won't be able to fit much wine in there.

Let us know in the comments if you try it and find a perfect combo—orange and prosecco was delightful for me.

Disclaimer: The owners of Rogers Park Social also own a store where this writer moonlights as a fancy whiskey shopgirl on the occasional weekend-day.