Skip to main content

Make Jell-O Shots Great Again? JottShots Are Trying To.

jottshots jello shots
JottShots/Facebook

Jell-O shots have always had their time and place (at college parties and tailgates and that’s about it), but might it be time to move beyond those boundaries? Maybe?

Recommended Videos

At least one person thinks so. Entrepreneur and former Wall Streeter Dorian Levy saw an empty slot in the beverage world and set out to fill the void in the pre-packaged gelatin shot market. JottShots are real, and they’re spectacular once you try them. Until then, they can seem really silly.

“It’s a unique market phenomenon. It’s weird to have a brand-new category in a product everybody knows,” Levy said. “Typically, [Jell-O shots] vary widely in texture, flavor, and strength. They’re super fun, but they’re a homemade product in the truest sense of the word. We wanted to bring consistency in a product and make it look like a consumer packaged good.”

His affinity for Jell-O shots dates back to the early 2000s (whose doesn’t?) when he threw parties for his Wall Street cohorts and made them by hand in a time-consuming and messy manner. One day his boss offered to buy them for him so he didn’t have to miss work. There was only one problem: prepackaged Jell-O shots didn’t exist.

The idea to solve that problem stuck in his head until he launched JottShots. Levy hopes to bridge the gap between the fun of college to the more mature setting of a real bar.

“Jell-O shots are on the wrong end of respectable,” Levy said. “It bothered me it seems like there’s a choice between nice and fun. I’ve never understood why they’re mutually exclusive.”

jottshots flavors
JottShots/Facebook

It took five years of development for Levy, first with the actual product, a vegan gelatin and neutral spirit product, then the packaging. JottShots come in four flavors: berry, mojito, cherry, and lemon drop. With this variety of options flavors (and consistency of product across the board), Levy says that JottShots have an opportunity to enter arenas — pool parties, nightclubs, cruise liners, sports and music venues — where Jell-O shots were previously missing.

According to the suggested instructions for slurping down a shot, you should pull, push, squeeze, and suck. Levy jokingly says fingers and tongues don’t belong in drinks and promotes it with the hashtag #SuckResponsibly.

“You don’t have these in lieu of a tequila shot,” Levy said. “They’re part of an experience, an add-on drink. There are better drinks for getting you drunk, but there are none, in my estimation, better for having fun than a Jell-O shot.”

“It elicits an emotional response that’s exciting and energetic and might lead to someone doing the worm on a dance floor.”

Right now, JottShots are only in Las Vegas — or as Levy called it, the unquestioned “Adult Capital of Fun” — but expansion and new flavors are imminent, he said.

“Once you pick up a pack, you wonder, ‘Why would I ever make these again?” Levy said.

Pat Evans
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Pat Evans is a writer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, focusing on food and beer, spirits, business, and sports. His full…
From sangiovese to syrah: the ultimate guide to dry red wines
Some of the greatest wines ever made
Cut of grilled steak with glass of red wine

Chances are your favorite red wine is dry. I know that not because I have a crystal ball, but because pretty much every popular red wine is dry. (I urge you to discover the many delights of sweet red wine, but not right now.) Before we get into types, let’s address the big question: What makes a wine dry?

Wines are called dry when they have comparatively low amounts of residual sugars, meaning they taste less sweet (technically below 1%, or nine grams of sugar per liter). All wines would be dry if fermentation weren’t halted or they were back-sweetened. Yeast will “ferment until dry,” meaning it will gobble up all the sugar there is, no crumbs left. This dry descriptor applies to all types of wine – sparkling, white, red, and rosé. The first time dry appears in writing referring to wine was in Richard Ames’s 1691 poem “The Last Search After Claret, &C.” in which the narrator is looking for a red Bordeaux but is offered sweet port instead:

Read more
Columbia River Gorge travel guide: Where to eat, what to do, and where to stay
So much to dine on and do in this PNW wonderland
Columbia River Gorge.

It's pretty amazing that you can be entering the Columbia River Gorge from downtown Portland, Oregon in just about 30 minutes. The scenic expanse feels worlds away—a wonderland of waterfalls, towering cliffs, evergreens, and a massive river in between. Here exists the ideal balancing act between premiere outdoor adventure opportunities and exceptional food and drink.

Spring and summer are the best times to visit this stunning landscape. During the former season, you get every imaginable shade of green, with wildflowers to boot. During the latter season, warm days beg for a plunge into one of the countless creeks and rivers, followed by a refreshing beer and a sound meal.

Read more
This award-winning chef says the secret to better BBQ is relaxing more
How to level up your grill this season
Grilling

Chef Charlie McKenna has a long history in the world of BBQ,  learning very early on about the art of authentic Southern BBQ from his Grandma Lillie. Chef McKenna has won two Memphis in May victories and a variety of other awards on the competitive BBQ circuit, teaching him a thing or two about the art of grilling. Just in time for grilling season, Chef McKenna shares his best tips and tricks you can implement right from home -- from the best BBQ sauces to the underrated tips every backyard barbecue should know. Here's what he shared.
Tips for backyard grillers

As a chef, Charlie McKenna is under a lot of pressure when competing in BBQ competitions. However, his best tip for backyard grillers is to relax and focus on having fun in the process of grilling and smoking. " Too often, people get wrapped up in trying to make everything perfect and forget to enjoy the process. We’re not curing cancer — we’re cooking food for our friends and family to enjoy. When you're having a good time, that energy translates into the food. You’ll experiment more, learn more, and ultimately serve better barbecue. If it ever feels stressful, take a step back, crack a cold one, and remember why you started grilling in the first place," he shares.

Read more