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5 Cocktail-Inspired Gelatin Shots to Start Your Summer Party

Why pour plain old booze at your summer bash when you can serve up these clever gelatin shots modeled after favorite cocktails and summer treats?

By: The Jello Mold Mistress of Brooklyn

©DANY2015

©DANY2015

©DANY2015

©DANY2015

©DANY2015

Firecracker Shots

Is there any more festive way to celebrate July 4th than with flag-topped red, white and blue gelatin shots? The layers are sweetened with blue curacao and grenadine, spiked with vodka and topped with whipped cream. They'll be a bigger party hit than the fireworks themselves.

Get the Recipe: Firecracker Shots

Pink Lemonade Shots

These clever citrus shots might cause you to do a double take — are they mini grapefruit wedges? Nay: They are lemon wedges filled with pink lemonade, cherry soda and vodka-spiked gelatin. Like the favorite summer drink, they're sure to quench your thirst — or at least give you a little buzz.

Get the Recipe: Pink Lemonade Shots

Champagne and Strawberry Shots

Who says gelatin shots can't be romantic? Here, hollowed-out strawberries are filled with a Champagne-spiked ginger ale-gelatin mixture and topped with mint for a new take on the flirtatious food pairing. (Feel free to use any sparkling white wine for a more affordable twist.) They're sure to spark your next summer romance — or at least impress your party guests.

Get the Recipe: Champagne and Strawberry Shots

Pina Colada Shots

To update the same old poolside drinks, serve them up in the form of adorable miniature pineapple shots. Pineapple gelatin spiked with rum and coconut milk sets in the fruit-shaped cookie cutters, and the coconut-milk solids rise to the top to form a skin, giving these shots their two-tone look. Finish them by gently dabbing the pineapple "leaves" with a paper towel dipped in green food coloring. Better than getting caught in the rain, right?

Get the Recipe: Pina Colada Shots

Blood Orange Margarita Shots

For another set-in-citrus-rind shot, try this stunning, sweet-tart take on the vibrant margarita. Here, orange rinds are filled with tequila- and orange liqueur-flavored gelatin. (Sure better than doing a straight-up tequila shot, if you ask us.)

Get the Recipe: Blood Orange Margarita Shots

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