Going to a college party in the early- to mid-2010s meant that you were probably going to be sipping on some objectively foul drinks. Before I knew better, Black Cherry Mike’s Hard Lemonade was my go-to, until I realized that it made me deeply nauseous before I even achieved a buzz. Four Lokos were notorious as the drink of choice for anyone who was apparently actively trying to black out, and at some point, you could pretty much guarantee someone was going to goad you into taking a Jägerbomb against your better judgment.
Among a sea of artificial color-spiked alcoholic beverages, though, there was one that always stood out to me: the Jell-O shot, a beacon of jiggly joy that essentially guaranteed you were about to have a good night. It indicated that some forethought had gone into the event; someone had decided to take some time out of their afternoon to go through the hassle of preparing and cooling the Jell-O before all the guests arrived, which I guess is the 21-year-old version of planning an especially luxe dinner party. You’d be handed a plastic cup full of bright red or green or blue slime, which you sometimes had to poke and prod before it would actually release from its cup.
It wasn’t about the flavor. The artificial cherry or orange or “blue raspberry” (whatever that means) didn’t taste very different from sugary Mike’s Hards, and they were almost always made with cheap vodka barely suitable for human consumption. Rather, it was all about the texture. Something about consuming alcohol in solid form made a party vastly more exciting than one where Bud Light Platinum and Kraken Rum shots were the drinks du jour.
For years, it seemed, Jell-O shots fell out of favor. But now, they’re coming back into vogue. High-end bars and restaurants are now serving elevated versions of the classic, and food historian Ken Albala thinks gelatin in general is enjoying a revival. Whether this revival is due to a sense of nostalgia or inflation is forcing us to find new ways to enjoy budget packaged foods, I truly believe that Jell-O shots should enjoy another moment in the limelight.
Hear me out: Times are tough. New global conflicts now seem to arise on a regular basis; it feels like we’re on the precipice of another world war. Costs are high, and wages are stagnant, so many of us have significantly less purchasing power than we did only a few years ago, leaving us financially struggling despite putting in hours of overtime. The specter of climate change has cast a shadow of anxiety over even the most lighthearted of activities. A bottle of over-oaked Cabernet Sauvignon just isn’t enough to put us in a party mood in 2024.
The Jell-O shot promises fun, frivolity and a childlike joy that seems harder to embody than ever. It provides a counterpoint to the well-constructed $18 cocktail you’ll now find at most higher-end restaurants. Are there better, more delicious ways to drink? Sure! But they can’t evoke the same excitement and nostalgia I experience when someone pulls a tray of electric green Jell-O shots out of the fridge. Even the funkiest, most barnyard-y natural wines with the coolest, most colorful labels can’t compete with jiggling, wobbly shots of solid, lime-flavored vodka.
Maybe I don’t really miss Jell-O shots as much as I miss the way the world felt then, during my Obama-era college years, when things felt at least somewhat solid and stable and right. Or maybe it’s not about the state of the world at all and more about my own internal experience of youthful hopefulness and wonder that had not yet been tempered by reality. But I’m clearly not alone in my nostalgia for the Jell-O shot.
Whether you’re snagging an artisanal Jell-O shot from Brooklyn’s Solid Wiggles or you’re just mixing up some good old grape-flavored Jell-O from the box, a Jell-O shot (or two) may just take you back to a simpler time in your life too.
Samantha Maxwell is a food writer and editor based in Boston. Follow her on Twitter at @samseating.