Micheladas are already the perfect warm weather drink: a mix of savoury flavours, ice-cold beer, and just a snap of spice. Now imagine making the michelada even better by turning it into a popsicle that you drop into the beer, slowly melting into a slushy sublime summer cocktail.
The brilliance of such a concoction is obvious. The greatest of all the beer cocktails, micheladas require blending of juices and spices with beer, so you usually need to add some ice to keep the whole thing cold as you sip. That means you’ll sometimes end up with a drink that’s watery or, worse, warm, tasting more like leftover tomato soup. The popsicle keeps everything the perfect temperature and it also plays upon the paleta, the brightly coloured fruit-centric popsicles which are sold on street corners throughout Mexico.
Such genius is the invention of the LA restaurant Diablo, an inventive Mexican eatery down the street from me. Order a michelada here and you’ll get your pick of different popsicle flavours paired with the beer of your choice. After pioneering the michelada popsicles in-house, they started selling their pops at local grocery stories as well as Dodger games, and I honestly can’t think of a better beverage to consume while watching Los Angeles baseball.
In addition to the traditional tomato lime flavour, Diablo also makes yuzu jalapeño and passion fruit cayenne flavours, as well as plenty of rotating daily specials. The other day I had a banana pop with Belching’ Beaver’s Peanut Butter Milk Stout that was like eating a cold PB & banana sandwich on a hot summer day. I encourage you to experiment with whatever fruits and spices you have on hand and seek out unique beer pairings.
Diablo rims their glasses with a chile de árbol and chunky sel gris and recommends you dunk your pop in a Victoria beer or Scrimshaw Pilsner. I’ve taken a few liberties and come up with my own take on Diablo’s tomato lime pop, but if you’re anywhere near LA, be sure to stop in for the real deal. Preferably before summer is over.
Michelada Popsicle inspired by Diablo Taco
- Fresh tomato juice (especially good if you can juice your own, or blend and strain)
- Clamato (optional, but you’d be crazy not to include it)
- Fresh lime juice
- A few shakes of Worcestershire sauce
- A few shakes of Tabasco or Tapatio hot sauce (or your more mouth-searing choice)
- Dash of celery salt
Combine equal parts tomato juice and Clamato with the rest of the ingredients — I have no idea how big your popsicle molds are, so you’ll have to decide how much to make at once. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze.
Rim large beer glasses with lime, chile de árbol, and kosher salt or sel gris, and serve with the beer of your choice. I like Tecate to keep things simple, but you might find another favourite.
Images via Diablo Taco