26 Best Shot Recipes for a Guaranteed Fun Party

Want to learn how to make a great shot drink? Here is a collection of the best shot recipes that will impress any guest.

A round of shots for everyone! With so many recipes to choose from, it will be hard to decide on just one. These shot recipes show the full range of tastes and flavors of shots, from savory to sweet to spicy to festive. So drink up and enjoy! 

Shots versus Shooters

The terms “shots” and “shooters” are often used like one and the same. However, there is a difference, although it’s rather small.

Shots contain only alcoholic ingredients. While shooters are like a mini cocktail or mixed drink because they can have non-alcoholic mixers and multiple liqueurs in them, as well as alcohol. 

Shot Recipes

1 — The Ultimate Jello Shots

Like a right of passage in Western adulthood, jello shots are classic shots that are portable in their tiny, plastic cups and lids, easily customizable, and incredibly delicious (and strong)! This is the ultimate basic recipe to master the art of making shots.

Start with your base alcohol  (for instance, white rum), and add in your preferred jello flavor (from the powder), such as berry blue or cherry. Once you master the classic shot, you can experiment with the more unique shots.

Festive Shots

1 — Champagne Jello Shots for New Years

Indulge in the epitome of sophistication with our champagne jello shots, each sparkling with effervescent bubbles and adorned with edible gold for a luxurious and delightful twist on a classic party favorite. These glittering shots use a French 75 recipe.

2 — Marbled Creme de Menthe Ice Cream Shots for Saint Patrick’s Day

While there isn’t a pot of gold at the end of this shot, it’s so delicious you won’t care if you’re missing gold! You really can’t go wrong with this no-churn boozy ice cream recipe. 

Creme de menthe is a colorless, clear liquor that is made by distilling the oil from mint leaves in alcohol. This pepperminty cool shot recipe is sure to be fire at your next party. Top it off with some whipped cream and golden sprinkles to stay in theme and stay delicious! 

3 — Chocolate Egg Shots for Easter

This recipe is an adorable way to not only celebrate Easter in a festive way but also use up all of those leftover chocolate eggs lying around. Consisting of Irish cream, caramel vodka, and creme de cacao, this creamy shot will have you in a tipsy chocolate sugar rush in no time. 

Although the eggs themselves work as a shot glass, put some artificial hay in the bottom of a martini glass and place the chocolate liquor-filled egg in the center on top of the hay for an even more festive way to drink. 

4 — Red, White, and Blue Jello Shots Recipe for Fourth of July

Nothing says America like red, white, blue, and drinking on the Fourth of July. An easy way to combine all t3 is this shot recipe. It’s not only delicious in flavor but super cool looking with its boxy, spotted colors mixed in. It also tastes like an actual cocktail – not just vodka and jello. 

Tasting similar to sherbet, the sweetened condensed milk gives the creamy white base while the cherry or strawberry red and berry blue chunks of jello shine through. 

This recipe can easily be switched up for other occasions, too. Try purple and gold for Mardi Gras in February, purple and orange for Halloween, or red and green for Christmas. The possibilities are endless!

5 — Ghost Shots Recipe for Halloween

This will become your new go-to for any Halloween party. These Halloween ghost shots come with a DIY shot glass twist and are filled with a creamy shot. 

Start by combining vanilla ice cream, milk of your choice, whipped cream (for texture), and creme de cocoa. If you want texture, add in a mini un-iced vanilla cupcake, but that’s optional, depending on your preference.

The rim of the glass can have honey or simple syrup to hold onto the black sand/sugar garnish, which can slide down the glass, making it look even more ghostly. 

6 — Scooby Snack Shot for Halloween and Christmas

Its name references mystery and Scooby Doo for a fun Halloween drink. However, this pretty shot also resembles the Grinch.

7 — Christmas Cookie Ice Cream Shots Recipe for Christmas

What’s better than ice cream, cookies, and alcohol? All three in the same glass. That’s what! This recipe allows for adult-friendly and kid-friendly variations so you can enjoy this delicious treat as a family.

Both versions have Christmas cookie ice cream, white sprinkles, and simple syrup. For the kid-friendly version, blend the ingredients with green food coloring and milk. For the adult-friendly version, add creme de cacao and creme de menthe to the base ingredients.

Make your own no-churn ice cream and add in snickerdoodle cookies and crushed sugar with green and red sprinkles. To make the shot glasses colorful, dip the glass rim into simple syrup and then into white sprinkles. Who knows? Santa might prefer this over traditional Christmas cookies anyway. 

8 — Peppermint Eggnog Milkshake Shots Recipe for Winter Holidays

Eggnog works for alcohol drinkers and non-alcohol drinkers alike all throughout the cold winter days. 

Simply combine sugar water, eggnog (with or without alcohol), and peppermint ice cream. Rim the glasses with crushed peppermint, top with peppermint white chocolate bark, and voila!

You won’t be able to put it down, so drink responsibly. If this is your new favorite recipe, turn it easily into a large punch bowl instead of teeny tiny shots. 

Spicy Shots

1 — Mexican Candy Shot Recipe

Fruity, spicy, and full of Mexican flavors. Yum! This tequila-based shot is dusted with chili powder and topped off with a lime for a shot so full of flavors you won’t be able to have just one. 

2 — Fireball Shot Recipe

For a fun twist on the traditional jello shot recipe, this recipe has a shot in an orange rind instead of a plastic cup. It’s deliciously spicy thanks to the fireball cinnamon whiskey, but sweet thanks to the homemade orange simple syrup. Enjoy! 

3 — Spicy Mango Shot Recipe

Consisting of tequila, lime, and mango powder, this shot will put a stop to that spicy craving you have. With drizzled Sriracha hot sauce in the base of the shot glass, tajín powder on the rim of the glass, and garnished with a lime wedge, get ready for a fun, delicious time! 

4 — Prairie Fire Shot Recipe

Also known as a Texas Prairie Fire or a Brave Bull #2, this shot is known as being one of the “worst shots ever invented.” However, that doesn’t mean it’s not yummy. It’s just made for a particular taste. Made up of Tabasco sauce and tequila, this shot will spice up your mood without scorching your taste buds. 

Sweet Shots

1 — Buttery Nipple Shot Recipe

This creamy shot is so delicious that you will want to make it into a cocktail so you can have more of it. Composed of two main ingredients (Baileys Irish Cream and Butterscotch Schnapps Liqueur ) with a funny drink name, this shot is the perfect dessert finish.

2 — Jolly Rancher Shot Recipe

Get ready to pucker those lips with these sweet and sour Jolly Rancher shots. Ranging in flavors from green apple, orange, and pineapple to cherry and blue raspberry, these shots will remind you of eating a Jolly Rancher on a hot summer day when you were younger. Only this time, it’s a lot more fun, thanks to the vodka twist! 

3 — Vegas Bomb Shot Recipe

If you’re looking for a shot that’s fun to drink, look no further. Similar to an Irish Car Bomb, this shot glass is dropped into a glass of Red Bull. It’s a combination of ingredients similar to the Royal Flush cocktail (Crown Royal whiskey, cranberry juice, and peach schnapps) and Red Bull. Drink up and get your poker on! 

4 — Gummy Bear Shot Recipe

Great for a fruity shot on a fun summer night, these gummy bear vodka shots are going to be your new favorite. They’re not only yummy but so easy to make and incredibly fun to look at since there are gummy bears incorporated into the shot. 

5 — Toasted Marshmallow Ice Cream Shot Recipe

There is nothing like a perfectly toasted marshmallow, especially with s’mores in the woods. With this recipe, you’ll home-make the toasted marshmallow ice cream, then add rum to it and garnish beautifully. 

6 — Cotton Candy Ice Cream Shots Recipe

These virgin or with-alcohol shots are the perfect shot for anyone with a super sweet tooth. Mix together cotton candy ice cream with coconut milk and vodka. Top it off with, of course, more cotton candy, and enjoy! 

7 — Salted Caramel Milkshake Shots Recipe

Close your eyes and imagine combining caramel with ice cream and cupcake into one alcoholic treat. YUM! With a very creamy shot and a myriad of golden, delicious garnishes, this shot is a great choice for parties with both adults and little ones. 

8 — Dark Chocolate Espresso Milkshake Shots Recipe

Why have a simple, plain coffee after dinner when you can make it a digestif shot? This rich and delicious shot is every bit as good with alcohol as it is without it. The good thing about the shot glasses being so cute is that it might hinder you from having five in a row. 

Sweet and Sour Shot Recipes

1 – Lemon Drop Shots

Tart and sweet, this Lemon Drop Shots recipe is the ultimate citrusy and vibrant shot to serve at parties! It’s like puckering up to a shot of lemon candy! You can also serve them in cute little jam jars instead of the usual shot glasses.

2 — Green Tea Shots

The Green Tea Shot is a whiskey-based shot that has the perfect balance of fruity, sweet and sour flavors. It’s called a Green Tea Shot because once you mix up all the ingredients (whiskey peach schnapps and a sour mix), it looks like green tea.

3 — Kamikaze Shots

A combination of vodka, triple sec and lime juice, the Kamikaze shot recipe is the not-so-distant cousin of the classic margarita cocktail.

4 — Edible Flower Lemon Jello Shot

Fresh lemons gives this pretty shot its sourness while sugar and Cointreau lends their sweetness. And the best part is that you can consume these pretty garnishes!

 

More Fun and Easy Cocktails to Try

• Creamy Birthday Cake Cocktail
• Lucky Coconut Mint Chocolate Cocktail
• Strawberry and Rose Sorbet Champagne
• Passion Fruit Martini

Please note that we may earn a commission for some of the above affiliate links. However, products featured are independently selected and personally well-loved by us!