Looks like the days of doing jello shots from small paper cups could be going the way of rotary phones and palm pilots. The newest things hitting the club and bar scene are edible cocktails - gelled "drinks" made into miniature works of art you eat like hors d'oeuvres. Buzz inducing hors d'oeuvres.

According to a recent LA Times article, the inspiration for these jiggly, solid cocktails came from the Bar du Plaza Athénée on Avenue Montaigne in Paris, where "slices of layered jelly shots are served on clear glass plates along with long wooden skewers" used to eat them. Chefs and bartenders took notice, and are busy inventing new and creative ways to serve classic drinks. And the possibilities are endless.

If you've ever been on a college campus you remember making jello shots by adding gelatin to vodka (or grain alcohol for those of you who really wanted to get the party rolling), pouring the mix into a cup or mold, and setting in the fridge overnight. But really creative mixologists are going a step further. In the LA Times piece they mention a jellied gin and tonic served at Tailor in NYC by bartender Eben Freeman. He serves it with frozen lime chips, sprinkled with "'tonic' powder, a concoction of baking soda, citric acid and powdered sugar, for a fizzy-on-the-tongue effect." A kind of mad scientist of the drink world, he's also working on marshmallow and cereal based cocktails. Other bartenders are experimenting with layered drinks and suspending marinated fruit in the mixture. (There are some recipes in the sidebar here.) To make your own, many chefs recommend using sheet gelatin over the powdered kind. (4 sheets are equal to one packet of powdered.) A rule of thumb mentioned in the Times piece is to use one-half to three-fourths of a sheet for every ounce of liquid used. Pour into to whatever mold you're using (shaped ice trays work well), and let it set up in the fridge overnight. Then pass at your next party for "cocktails" no one will forget.

(Pictured above from top to bottom: Campari and orange juice, blueberry martini, Rosé Champagne with candied orange peel, vanilla-bean Prosecco, B-52, pear martini, Manhattan, tequila sunrise, gin and tonic.)

[VIA - Daily Olive]