Edible Cocktails
Candies? No. Vintage Lucite? No theyre solid cocktails, sophisticated jelly shots. You can turn almost any cocktail into one. Pictured here, clockwise from top, are jelly shots made from rosé Champagne, B-52 (layers of Kahlúa, Baileys and Grand Marnier), pear martini, tequila sunrise, gin and tonic (garnished with lime zest and tonic powder) and blueberry martini. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
B-52 jelly shots are served at Bar Nineteen 12 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, but you can easily make them at home. Just dissolve gelatin sheets in separate containers of Kahlúa, Baileys and Grand Marnier. Pour the Kahlúa into a plastic film-lined loaf pan, let it set, add a layer of Baileys, let it set, and top it off with Grand Marnier. After it all sets, cut it into slices. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
Pastry chef Catherine SchimentiÖ serves these Prosecco gelées for dessert at Craft in Century City, but they also make wonderful as aperitifs. Theyre flecked with vanilla bean. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
Bar Nineteen 12 created the recipe for these blueberry martini jelly shots. The bar uses half-sphere molds, but theyre also appealing in pyramid shapes. To create them, The Times test kitchen used plastic candy molds. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
Jelly shots arent the only kind of solid cocktails. Pastry chef Adrian VasquezÖ uses sodium hexametaphosphateÖ to make thise mojito spheres at Providence in Los Angeles. Do not try this at home! (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
A gin and tonic gelée is served on a spoon at Providence. Its garnished with lime zest and tonic powder made from baking soda, citric acid and powdered sugar. The gelée fizzes and dances in your mouth. (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
Bar Nineteen12 at the Beverly Hills Hotel serves solid cocktails in the form of three sorbets pomegranate mojito, left, grapefruit margarita, center, and lavender pear martini. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)
At Bar Nineteen 12 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, jelly shots are served on an ice-filled glass box thats lighted from within. From top, blueberry martini, pear martini, B-52, mojito and bubble gum martini. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)
