Hi Anna! Great question. Though the cocktail shaker is the best tool for mixing liquor, you don’t have to use a cocktail shaker if you don’t have one. Just make sure to mix and combine the simple syrup and lemon juice well. Give it a good stir in the saucepan (without the ice). Hope this helps!

Hi Yseult. We only advise substituting the simple syrup for a flavored simple syrup like mint simple syrup. Simple syrup is quite easy to make at home. It’s simply water and sugar boiled together. We have a recipe post here: https://sugarandcloth.com/mint-simple-syrup-recipe/ for regular simple syrup. If you only use cane sugar, you’ll still need more liquid for the jello shots to set correctly. Hope this helps!