Fizzy Vodka Jellies

Vodka jellies have been my party piece for over a decade now and it goes without saying that if there's a party, instead of bringing a bottle of wine for the host, I'll bring a tray of vodka jelly shots. I've been known as 'vodka jelly girl' for a long, long time and I'm fairly certain that there are a few parties I've been invited to over the years purely because of the jellies.

I've experimented with vodka jellies many times, I made tri-coloured ones that were a huge success but then there was the time I tried to encapsulate jelly babies inside the shots and the less said about that the better. Tomorrow is my mothers annual summer BBQ and I thought that perhaps I'd experiment with the jellies again. When I was a little girl my mum would make me fizzy jelly by replacing half the water with lemonade and I've continued to do this whenever I make jelly at home. So, why not put on my mad scientist hat and make fizzy vodka jellies?!

When I started this project today I wasn't convinced it would work. I've perfected my method (measurements, timing, brands etc) and I was a bit sceptical about changing anything but after trying the finished product, for quality control purposes obviously, I'm thrilled with the results and I can't wait to hand them out tomorrow at the BBQ as they are deliciously tingly and refreshing with just the right kick.

My usual vodka jelly recipe is 250ml hot water and 250ml vodka (they're very potent) poured into shot glasses but I've had to mix up the measurements this time to accommodate the lemonade. If you want to make these fizzy alcoholic jellies, here's the method:

You will need:

A jug
A sachet of sugar free jelly - it MUST be a sachet of powder, the big blocks of jelly don't work properly
Chilled lemonade - I've used diet just because of a personal preference
Vodka
Plastic shot glasses - I got these ones from Poundland
A tray big enough for all your jellies - this makes everything so much easier
Room in the fridge to put the tray
A freshly boiled kettle
A fork

1. Add 100ml of boiling water to your jug
2. SLOWLY sprinkle the jelly sachet into the water stirring all the time with a fork
3. Once all your jelly has dissolved leave the mixture for 5-10mins to cool to room temperature
4. Add 200ml of vodka to the room temperature jelly mix
5. Add 200ml of chilled lemonade to the jelly mix
6. Stir the jelly mix once or twice, don't stir it loads or the lemonade will lose fizz
7. Pour your jelly mix into plastic shot glasses
8. Put the jellies in the fridge until set
9. Eat the jellies and get rascally drunk

I've used a lemon & lime sachet and an orange sachet and I got a full 30 shots out of it.

They don't take long to set at all, I made these at 11am today and they were set at 5pm. Be warned - fizzy jelly, whether alcoholic or not, will go flat after a day or two so don't make it too far in advance. The best way to experience fizzy jelly is to push your tongue through it. I know that sounds weird but you can really feel the bubbles. 

To get the jellies out of the shot glasses you can either tap it on a table to release the sides, use a cocktail stick to run around the edges or grab a spoon. I find that usually a couple of taps is all you need and then the whole shot will slide out. 

If you're wondering why I've said not to use standard blocks of jelly cubes and to only use sachets, it's because the cubes don't dissolve properly in such small amounts of water whereas the powder doesn't have that problem. As for the tray, you can still make the jellies without it but carrying 30 shots over to the fridge without spilling any would be a bit tedious. With a tray you can get them all in at once. 

So there you have it, fizzy vodka jellies. If you make them, I hope you love them as much as I do!