Jello Shots

By Danny Sickle

Crappy vodka? Little plastic cups? Sticky frat floors? Your bed spinning 12 hours later?

Not for me. For me, jello shots bring to mind: fresh mint and lime juice enveloped in dark rum and reposado tequila; layered passion fruit margaritas with fleur de sel sprinkled on top; and, floral St Germain wrapped around lychees, raspberries, and Veuve. I think of the hours and hours in my kitchen, executing the most official R+D, at least that’s how I framed it with my parents.

Baking is my truest passion, followed by discovering crazy cocktails. After an intoxicated viewing of Bad Moms with friends, and one Ms. Martha Stewart serving Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn fancy shmancy jello shots, I decided I was going to combine passions. I was going to spend the next year making, and, more importantly, enjoying, some of the most insane jello shots.

I set out researching recipes and ingredients. After Martha’s cameo appearance, her website published three recipes for adult Jell-O shots. Then, BuzzFeed compiled a list of 21 of their favorite recipes. This was my starting off point. Immediately, I decided only organic unflavored gelatin was going to cut it for me and my obnoxious palate. Fresh juices were a given, as was quality liquor. I used these recipes as a base, but improved the ingredients. Nevertheless, the resulting shots weren’t up to my standards.

I kept tinkering with them until I finally got somewhere. Once I perfected the first recipe -- Blueberry Mojito Jello Shots -- each subsequent “cocktail” became easier to develop. I learned the correct ratios of juices to alcohol to gelatin and how to utilize the flavors offered by the ingredients to their fullest potential.

I became invested and enthralled by my creations and the process. Little by little, I started pouring more money into the project. From the get-go, I refused to use single-use virgin plastic cups, and my 13x9 baking dish just wasn’t cutting it anymore. I did a little research and decided that the silicone molds chocolatiers and candy makers used were going to enable me to make my delicious cocktails not just presentable, but really noteworthy. And then, boom: it all came together. And not long after, I had a list of my 20 favorite Jell-O shots.

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

3 envelopes unflavored gelatin

3/4 cup fresh lime juice

1⁄3 cup blueberry juice

4 stems fresh mint leaves

1 carton blueberries

1 cup white rum

Directions

1. In a pot, heat water and sugar over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Re- move from heat and stir in the gelatin. Add the lime and blueberry juice and 3 mint stems. Steep for 15 minutes. Remove the mint stems and stir in the rum.

2. Fill molds with the jello mixture and sprinkle in some chopped fresh mint and blueberries. Place in the refrigerator and allow to set for at least 4 hours.