Brace Yourself for the Fancy Jell-O Shot Revolution

In 2023, the Jell-O shot can be whatever you want it to be.

In college, making Jell-O shots was an ungraceful affair, marked by hazardous pours of vodka that we’d stir into powdered drink mix. Once set and served, the jiggly shots were slurped and clumsily crunched out of a tiny cup or scooped out with your finger.

But at Solid Wiggles, a Brooklyn-based studio that makes boozy and non-boozy jellies and cakes, veteran mixologist Jack Schramm and pastry chef Jena Derman make shots that swap the Kool-Aid or Kraft-Heinz flavors of our youth (think ice blue raspberry and tropical punch) for Negronis, jiggly midori sours, and espresso martinis in solid form. By using booze from small producers like Faccio Brutto, Supergay, and Gwendoline Gin, and opting for ingredients like sheet gelatin and organic fruit purees, Solid Wiggles eschews Jell-O shots’ low-brow reputation, elevating spiked jellies into something truly delicious and eye-catching. Their final forms are one- or two-bite, disco-inflicted cocktail jellies, elegant and elevated in flavor and design — often iridescent, sometimes neon green and geometrical, and other times boasting edible flowers (made from condensed milk) or basketballs (orange and Hennessy) suspended in gelatin.

Related: Cranberry-Orange Sparkling Wine Gelatin

Schramm and Derman are just small parts of the large wave bar folk who are dragging Jell-O shots back into the limelight by making thoughtfully classed-up, cocktail-ish jiggles. In New York City alone, the team at Marian’s gelatinizes their house Negroni, which in two acts: a regular Negroni served over ice, alongside a version that comes  jiggling in a coupe. In SoHo, beloved dive bar Milady’s features a rotational jelly shot menu  — currently, guests can slurp back a neon-green Midori sour or the digestive-y Dreamboat, an after dinner sipper made with Faccio Brutto aperitivo, orange, and lime (made by Solid Wiggles).

To match the intriguing ingredients in these shots, their presentation is equally elevated — Instead of sad plastic or paper shot glasses, they’re served in a scallop half-shell. And at Lillistar, a high-vibe hot spot on the roof of the Moxy Williamsburg hotel, guests groove to DJs and slurp back Jell-O shots served out of soup spoons. Currently on offer: jelly French 75s and lychee martinis.

Across the country, Silver Lyan in D.C. makes jellied Bombay Sapphire Grand Cru sours, served with a Champagne chaser. Twelve in Portland makes a gelatinized shot from house-made limoncello, bergamot, and orange curacao and tops it up with a classy splash of bubbles. “It’s a little bit of a throwback — most people who order it laugh as they ask for it,” says general manager Sebastien Taffara.

While yesterday’s Jell-O shots were designed for heavy drinking, today’s reincarnated Jell-O shots are culinary-focused conversation pieces. “They’re stunningly beautiful, but also delicious,” says Milady’s partner Julie Reiner. “And, they’re a really fun way to kick off (or round out!) your night.”

“Some customers react to the cocktail flavors, some react to the artistic vision, and others react to the pastry wonder,” says Schramm, who makes Lillistar’s, Milady’s and Porchlight’s jelly shots. “The most gratifying moment isn’t the visual reveal (although we love that) — it’s when we watch them take the first bite and realize that we spent just as much time making them delicious as we did making them beautiful.”

And unlike the Jell-O shots of yore, today’s shots don’t always have to be built to party — they can be made to suit your mood. Oddly Enough, a Bed-Stuy bar and queer space, has offered classics — jellied spicy margarita, a Negroni Sbagliato (with Prosecco) or a pineapple screwdriver; all Solid Wiggles jiggles. In Dallas, Midnight Rambler offers Miami Vice-flavored Jell-O shots — made with coconut milk, coconut rum, pineapple, and strawberry-lime — served in the shape of deviled eggs. Hungry? At Gowanus’ Cafe Mars, turn to the food menu for a dish called ‘jell-olives’: chunky Castelvetranos floating in Negronified cubes of jelly. They’re far more of an aperitivo than an amped-up shot.

Despite their shared medium, these drinks are all wildly different, which speaks to one of the Jell-O shot’s’ newer values: versatility. Unsurprisingly, getting gelatinized drinks — especially increasingly creative ones — right isn’t easy. “[Making jell-O shots is] more scientific than our usual cocktail crafting,” says Twelve’s Taffara. “We have to ensure that the consistency of the jello is right, without making it a brick or too soupy. But the same ethos is there as in regular cocktail creation — balancing all the flavors so it feels clean and bright, without being too sweet.”

Related: These Stunning Jell-O Cakes Will Hypnotize You

“A crucial thing to remember is that the final product won’t be a liquid!” says Schramm. “Some styles of cocktails, primarily ultra-boozy drinks like Old Fashioneds or creamy drinks like espresso martinis, just don’t transfer well to a chewable jelly.” Citrus and tropical fruit-forward cocktails shine best in jelly form.

“The past few years have been a time of overwhelming heaviness,” says Schramm. “Folks are nostalgic for a time before pandemics and global boiling when things felt easy. They’re searching for a sense of levity and whimsy in general! We’re thrilled to be able to create something fun and delicious that can provide an escape, however brief.”

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