Perfectly chilled, joyfully wobbly jelly shots are a great way to celebrate life's best moments.
Whether they're breaking the ice at a party, provoking giggles at a back garden BBQ or simply upgrading a night with friends- jelly shots always get people smiling.
They can be bought pre-made or you can make them yourself:
Pre-made and ready-to-serve
The quick and easy choice is a pack of our ready-to-serve, individually-sealed premium jelly shots: confidently boozy, naturally flavoured and free from animal products.
You can check out our range of flavours here.
Make them yourself at home
Before perfecting our bespoke jelly recipe we got really good at making them the old-fashioned way using store bought ingredients- and we're sharing that knowledge below, step by step.
First off, what's a home-made jelly shot?
A home-made jelly shot is comprised of patience, careful measurements of ingredients, a splash of booze (we'll get to the exact amount soon), store-bought jelly cubes and boiling water.
This joyous blend of ingredients is then poured into shot glasses and refrigerated to set.
Are jelly shots vegetarian or vegan friendly?
Unfortunately the base of store-bought jelly, gelatin, is an animal product - which obviously isn't suitable for a vegetarian or vegan diet.
BTW our premium jelly shots don't contain any animal products (and this is positively the last time we plug them!)
What ingredients do I need to make jelly shots?
The ingredients to make bog-standard jelly shots are surprisingly simple:
1) Jelly cubes from the supermarket (like these)
2) Hot water
3) Alcohol
The type of alcohol you use isn't limited to vodka
If you're looking for a flavour-forward alcohol, rum is a common choice.
Other options include tequila, whiskey, brandy and gin.
But if you're playing it safe, vodka is the go-to for its neutral flavour.
For best results stick to a liquor that's around 40% ABV
Any higher and your jelly might not set (alcohol has a lower freezing point than water).
Higher-proof alcohols don't taste as good and might overpower the flavour of your jelly shots.
Packing too much alcohol into a sweet little jelly can make it easy to over consume (and over-drink).
Don't go too cheap on the booze
It's temping to go as cheap as chips when buying alcohol for jelly shots- after all, the jelly sweetness will mask the sins of cheaper brands... right?
Not really.
And you can bet the cheaper the alcohol the less care was made filtering out the by-products of fermentation- which increases the risk of a pounding headache and horrible hangover the next day.
We've never regretted using premium, multi-purified alcohol in our jelly shots- so do your taste buds and body a favour and do the same.
What equipment do I need to make jelly shots?
To make your shots you're going to need:
- A whisk (or a fork if you're in a pickle).
- A measuring jug.
- Some way to boil water - like a kettle or saucepan.
- Small plastic or glass cups in which the jelly will set. We recommend buying plastic - it's flexible and allows easier removal when the jelly sets.
Step 1: Dissolve the jelly
As it's the most common jelly in the UK, for this guide we're going to assume you're using a standard 135g pack of Hartleys jelly - it doesn't matter which flavour as they're all prepared the same way.
Firstly stick some water on to boil.
While that's heating, open up your pack of jelly and separate it into little squares.
You can use your fingers to pull it apart or plop it onto a cutting board and use a knife.
It doesn't need to be perfectly squared - just separated.
Place the pieces into the measuring jug.
Once the water is boiled pour half a pint (285ml) into the measuring jug.
Whisk until the jelly is completely dissolved.
Step 2: Add your alcohol
It's important to let the jelly mix cool for a few minutes before adding your booze - if the mixture is too hot it can cause the alcohol to burn off.
Which you'll agree would be a tragedy :(
Don't worry about the jelly setting while you're waiting - it would take hours at room temperature.
Now, how much alcohol you add is up to you, but we wouldn't recommend more than 120ml because:
- Too much alcohol and it'll become the overpowering taste.
- It'll stop the jelly from setting properly so you might end up making a weird vodka liqueur!
Top the mixture up with cold water to one full pint (570ml) once you've added your booze.
Step 3: Pouring into shot glasses
Once you've thoroughly whisked the jelly, alcohol and water together it's time to pour it into your prepared shot glasses.
Pop the filled glasses into the fridge and let them cool for three to four hours.
Once they're fully set they're ready to serve.
Jelly shots can usually be stored safely for a few weeks in the fridge - the sugar and alcohol are both natural preservatives.
However, consider keeping them in a sealed container as the fridge will suck moisture out of the jelly and make it a tad lifeless.
How strong is a jelly shot?
If you stick to our recipe and use 120ml of vodka, your shots should end up at roughly 12% ABV.
That's about the same strength as the average wine.
While a couple of these shots won't get your drunk, their sweetness and ease of eating means you can overindulge quicker then you might expect, so please consume responsibly.
Pro tips
If you want to take your shots to the next level, you can try:
- Fruity bits: Try adding some small, chopped-up pieces of fresh fruit to each pot. Berries are a great choice. Stay away from pineapple though - the natural acids in the fruit will stop the jelly from setting. Note: if you're going to use fruit in your shots be sure to consume them within a few days otherwise the fruit can spoil.
- Mixing flavours: Get creative by using multiple flavours of jelly to craft mixed-fruit tastes, or even add food flavourings to give the shot an extra level of taste complexity.
- Flavoured alcohol: There are a ton of flavoured vodkas on the market - lemon, grape, cherry... even marshmallow! The combinations are endless.
- Rainbow shots: To create layers of different flavoured and/or coloured jellies, follow the recipe as above but only part fill each shot glass. Allow the jelly to set before adding the next colour/flavour. Repeat as many times as you like until your reach your desired effect.
For those interested: a brief history of jelly shots
Jelly was a pretty niche food until the 19th century when the invention of gelatin powders made it super-easy to make jelly at home and get consistently good results.
One of the earliest references to mixing alcohol with jelly was by a famous bartender called Jerry Thomas who included a 'punch jelly' recipe in his 1862 work 'How to Mix Drinks', in which he added fish-bladder derived gelatin to a fruit punch swimming with cognac and rum - yum!
The more modern form of jelly shots was born in 1950's America, where it's claimed a musician named Tom Lehrer was so frustrated about a booze-ban at the navy base he was assigned to that he invented the jelly shot as a way to sneak alcohol past his superiors.
We can only imagine how much booze he snuck into his wobbly invention - for our recipe, we'll keep the measures sensible so we don't spoil the taste.
