Well, we made it. A whole month of nerdy recipes and Nerd Month is finally coming to a close with a show that is very dear to my black heart, Black Books. Black Books (available on Hulu and Netflix) is an earlier effort from the creator of the IT Crowd (which also got the Nerd Month treatment in the form of Sea Parks Mashed Potatoes). It’s just as funny but with slightly worse people. Main character Bernard Black (possibly one of my favorite characters ever) is terrible, misanthropic, bitter, mean, and owns/lives above a book shop where he never seems to actually sell any books. He is also quite fond of the drink and on one hot day, comes up with the best possible way of enjoying one.
Would that we all could be as brilliant as Bernard Black, (we can’t) but we can booze like him. Wine Lolly, anyone?
Coming up with these red wine popsicles was actually a ton of fun because I’m not a huge drinker of red wine and had no idea how to make it into a palatable popsicle. When I came across the Tinto De Verano cocktail, an easy mix of Spanish red wine and lime soda, I knew it would make the perfect summery popsicle. I made a batch and while it was a good cocktail, the frozen popsicles were a little bland. So for round two, I added a lime simple syrup to the mix, and that did the trick. You still have the deep richness of the red wine (use whatever type you like best), but the tartness of the lime and sugar sweet of the syrup make the popsicles so much tastier. If you are looking for a boozy frozen summer treat, it doesn’t get much better than this. I think even Bernard Black would approve.
Going into summer without a popsicle mold? This is the one* I bought recently and am very happy with. The plastic base feels high quality and I’ve had no trouble with the lid catching on the sticks when you go to remove it, which seems to be a problem with a ton of models. I’ll report back next summer on the mold’s longevity, but so far, I love it! Nutritional Information
*This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive small commission if you make a purchase using one of the links. There is absolutely no additional cost to you.
