Add the word mom before anything—mom jeans, mom friends, mom’s night out—and you immediately know what to expect. Something a little toned down, a little asexual, a little lame. It’s rare that it connotes anything cool, but a new line of People’s Pops, spiked with Clyde May’s Whiskey, is one of the exceptions to the rule. Because they look and taste a bit like People’s Pops’ “normal” artisanal, fruit-filled popsicles, you will have to explain to your kids, ‘No, dear, these are mommy’s pops.’ And because they won’t believe you, you’ll have to order a few alcohol-free ones for them, too.
There are three to choose from—a New Old Fashioned, filled with sugar plums (not cherries), a little hibiscus, and bitters; an Alabama Orchard, made with Granny Smith apple and five spice, and an Alabama Mule with ginger, blackberries and bitters (the recipe follows). Each is $5 and the minimum order is 20 pops which can then be delivered around Manhattan and in Brooklyn from North Brooklyn through Park Slope (they can’t be picked up in store). If you place the order by tomorrow, Friday, May 8 before noon you’ll have them ready in time for Mother’s Day. This is a lot to spend on popsicles, even whiskey-filled ones, though, so you might want to make it party, or order them for a future event (they’re available beyond Sunday). Or you can just make some boozy pops at home.
Note–none of these are so alcoholic you’ll actually catch a buzz, but if you place the pop in a cocktail, or sip it along with a drink, that will do the trick. And while the recipe specifically calls for Clyde May’s, you can obviously use what’s in your liquor cabinet.
People’s Pops & Clyde May’s Alabama Mule Pops
Ingredients
11 ounces or about 3⁄4 pound fresh rhubarb
1.5 cups (6.5 ounces) fresh blackberries
12 grams fresh chopped ginger
2 dashes of Angostura bitters
1⁄2 cup organic sugar
4 fl oz water
3 fl oz Clyde May’s Whiskey
Combine sugar, water and ginger in saucepan. Gently heat while stirring until sugar completely dissolves.Remove from heat and steep for at least one hour, then strain ginger from syrup. You should have about 7 fluid ounces of syrup.
Rinse rhubarb and chop into 1-inch pieces, discarding the tough or dried out ends. Place into small pan along with just enough water to prevent rhubarb from burning (about a quarter inch) and stir until the rhubarb becomes a soupy consistency (about ten minutes). Allow to completely cool. Ideally, you’ll have 12 fluid ounces of rhubarb puree.
Rinse and gently pat dry blackberries, then puree. Should come out to about 4 fluid ounces of blackberry puree.
Combine cooled rhubarb, cooled ginger syrup, blackberry puree, Clyde May’s Whiskey and a couple dashes of bitters. The mixture should be sweetly tart, with a kick. Pour into molds, add sticks and freeze until solid, 4 to 6 hours. Unmold and transfer to plastic bags for storage or serve at once.
