Get ready South Africa – JML Consulting, the same team that brought us the super-popular Pierre Jourdan Wine Popsicles (aka PJ Pops)  are launching  gin popsicles! They’ve teamed up with Cape Town gin distillers Hope on Hopkins to bring two Gin and Tonic popsicles to the market under the name of Frost Popsicles – a G&T Classic and G&T Berry Infusion.

“A year after we launched PJ Pops™, our company is at a point where we want to expand our range of popsicles, and the establishment of Frost Popsicles as a separate banner brand allows us the flexibility to do just that,” explains Jon-Marc De Carvalho, who co-founded JML Consulting with Natasha Alomia in 2012.

From the runaway success of the PJ Pops™ “the demand for alcohol-based popsicles is very much out there and we want to make sure we stay ahead of the curve,” adds Alomia, who says the decision to expand into gin-based popsicles was an obvious one. “It’s impossible to ignore the global dialogue around craft gin, both in South Africa and abroad.”

The two flavours stay true to the taste of a gin and tonic – the Classic will have the juniper notes and subtle bitterness of a G&T, while the Berry Infusion incorporates notes of blackberries, strawberries and blueberries to offer a rounded, slightly sweeter G&T experience. Creating the Frost Popsicles was an exhaustive process of research, tasting and sampling. After tasting dozens of gins they decided to go with Hope on Hopkins and asked them to create a  bespoke gin for the range.

“Because some flavours tend to become subdued when the gin is frozen, we went with a traditional London Dry for the G&T Classic popsicle,” explains Lucy Beard, co-owner of Hope on Hopkins. “We aimed to highlight very particular flavours by using just four botanicals. It’s juniper-driven, with coriander, angelica root and licorice just to round it off.”

The gin was distilled using the traditional London Dry ‘one-shot’ method, with juniper berries macerated in the still and the remaining botanicals suspended in a botanical basket.

“This method of vapour infusion gives a more gentle flavour profile to the final product,” explains Beard, who says the gin for the G&T Berry Infusion popsicle incorporated blueberries and blackberries into the distillation, “plus some orange peel to bring in a little sweetness.”

“We chose Hope on Hopkins because they are like-minded in their approach to innovation and quality, and we are thrilled with the bespoke gins they have created for the G&T Popsicles,” says Alomia. “It’s the power of the gin that makes this product come alive. This is also the first time, worldwide, that a bespoke gin-based Popsicle has been created in partnership with an established distillery.”

Frost Popsicles were made with a leading local brand of craft tonic, and the final product has 7% alcohol.

The innovative new G&T Popsicles will be available in select Spar, Pick n Pay, Liquor City and independent liquor stores in the Western Cape, Gauteng, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal from early September. Recommended retail price is R27.00 per Popsicle (inclusive of VAT). Frost Popsicles can also be ordered online, by the box, at www.frostpopsicles.com