Guinness & Green Jelly Shot for St. Patrick's Day

By
Colleen Graham
Photo of Colleen Graham
Colleen Graham
Freelance writer and cocktail book author Colleen Graham is a seasoned mixologist who loves sharing her knowledge of spirits and passion for preparing drinks.
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Updated on 05/2/21
Guinness & Green Jell-O Shots

S&C Design Studios
Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Refrigerate: 3 hrs
Total: 3 hrs 30 mins
Servings: 28 servings
Yield: 28 jello shots
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
20 Calories
0g Fat
2g Carbs
0g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 28
Amount per serving
Calories 20
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 1mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 2g 1%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 1mg 0%
Iron 0mg 0%
Potassium 2mg 0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

​Bring Jell-O shots to your St. Patrick's Day party with a fun Guinness & Green Jelly Shot. It's a funky twist on the standard Jell-O shot recipe, and you'll be surprised how well works.

This recipe has everything we love about Irish alcohol. In fact, it has everything you'll find in an Irish slammer, just in a jelly form. It's a double-layered gelatin shot with Guinness (or another stout) and Irish whiskey on the bottom and a green Irish cream layer on top.

If you were to skip the green food coloring, the top layer looks similar to the foam on a pint of Guinness. 

The Guinness & Green is a fun recipe that's rather quick to mix up. It should take no longer than 30 minutes to prepare (including 20 just waiting for the gelatin to set up). After the second layer, you will need to give it a few hours to set up completely.

This recipe will make about 28 (2-ounce) gelatin shots.

Ingredients

Steps to Make It

Make the Guinness Gelatin Base

  1. Pour the Guinness into a bowl and add 3 envelopes (3 tablespoons) of gelatin. Allow this to rest for about 2 minutes.

  2. Add Irish whiskey and 1 cup of hot water. Stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved.

  3. Pour equal amounts into shot glasses, leaving enough room for the second layer.

  4. Refrigerate for about 20 to 30 minutes.

Tips

  • Your water does not need to be boiling, but it should be very hot in order to dissolve the gelatin.
  • For this first layer, you don't need the gelatin to set completely. However, you do want to have a semi-solid base because the second layer will still be warm. This may cause some of the brown gelatin to seep up into the green layer. It doesn't look bad, it just doesn't have the pure green color. 

Make the Green Gelatin Layer

If you're using the same bowl for this layer, wash it first. You may not be able to see it, but there's likely some gelatin left inside that's already setting up.

  1. Pour the Irish cream liqueur into a bowl and add 1 envelope (1 tablespoon) of gelatin. Allow this to rest for about 2 minutes.

  2. Add 1/2 cup of hot water and stir until the gelatin is dissolved.

  3. Add about 4 drops of green food coloring and stir. Add more drops to intensify the green if you like.

  4. Slowly pour the green Irish cream gelatin on top of the partially set Guinness gelatin.

  5. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours or until completely set up.

Serving Options

As with any jelly shot, you can serve these in a variety of ways. 

  • Disposable plastic shot cups.

  • Large shot glasses—those with a large round bowl work great—or old-fashioned glasses.

  • As a sheet: Pour the gelatin layers into a flat dish or pan and cut them into squares once set.

About the Gelatin

Even though these shots fall into what are popularly called "Jell-O shots" that name is not entirely correct. That's because we're not using the Jell-O brand of gelatin (they don't make an unflavored gelatin). Instead, they should technically be called "gelatin" or "jelly" shots.

You will find unflavored gelatin from brands like Knox in most grocery stores. It is most often found in a box that contains four envelopes, each with 1/4 ounce or 1 tablespoon of gelatin. The total amount of gelatin needed for both layers is 1 ounce or 4 tablespoons.

If you're using a gelatin other than Knox, you may need to measure out the gelatin. 

Make These Shots on the Cheap

There's no need to buy a large bottle of Irish whiskey or cream or an entire six-pack of Guinness if you don't want to. Of course, stocking up your bar is not a bad idea, but you can save a little money with this recipe.

To make the exact recipe above, pick up one bottle of Guinness (many stores offer singles), one miniature bottle of Irish whiskey, and two minis of Irish cream. If the liquor store doesn't have minis of an Irish cream like Baileys, another cream like RumChata works just fine.

How Strong Are the Guinness & Green Shots?

We mixed three types of alcohol into these Jell-O shots, so you would think they'd be pretty strong, right? Not necessarily because the largest volume comes from a 5.6 percent ABV stout. Plus, we match the total alcohol with just as much water, so the final shots are relatively tame.


If you were to use Guinness Extra Stout, Jameson Irish Whiskey, and Baileys Irish Cream, the Guinness & Green would have an alcohol content of around 9 percent ABV (18 proof).


In the world of party shooters, this is pretty mild. However, as we know from Jell-O shots, it's very easy to keep eating and you might be drunk before you know it. No matter how great they taste, don't forget that these have alcohol.