When a menu lists Pink Guava Picante, Espresso Martini, Smoked Aperol Negroni, and Toasted pina colada, one can easily assume it is a cocktail menu. Wrong.
We spotted Rizzlers, an alcoholic cocktail jelly brand, at the Served food festival in BKC, where its 33-year-old founder, Akshata Patole, strolled the grounds with a box slung around her neck, much like a quintessential paan tokri.
&ldquo;Rizzlers, anyone?&rdquo; Patole, sporting a septum ring and tuft of perfect curls, approached us. She revealed her wares, colourful square cuts of jello shots.
<img title="Lime picante rizzler; (right) Strawberry-peach soju and spicy guava picante" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jul/Its-got-the-rizz-b_e.jpg" alt="Lime picante rizzler; (right) Strawberry-peach soju and spicy guava picante" width="1280" height="720" />Lime picante rizzler; (right) Strawberry-peach soju and spicy guava picante
Struck with nostalgia for jelly falooda at Shiv Sagar, or for nights of digging the spoon straight into the bowl mom used to make with Bluebird ready-to-mix gelatin powder. Bless the person who thought of adding vodka to make jello shots in red cups.
We picked an Elderflower and Pear Shikanji, a transparent cube set with blue pea edible flowers. A burst of gin infused with the floral cordial opened flavours of lime, lemon and mint in our mouth. The Strawberry Peach Soju, set in a ribbon-like red-and-white look, left a sweet, fruity finish on the palate.
Each vibrantly designed cube weighs about 20 grams. &ldquo;Pop 5-6 of them and you&rsquo;ll have barely consumed alcohol equivalent to one 30-ml cocktail.
Rizzlers are not a replacement for cocktails. With a lot of people cutting down their alcohol consumption, this is a fun option to stock at a party,&rdquo; Patole tells us.
The lawyer-turned-chef entrepreneur infuses ingredients with alcohol and some additional flavours to give it the balance of a cocktail. &ldquo;Most of the menu has no added sugar, except for shikanji, which needs sugar to balance the tang. I use honey for the espresso. The tray is set, and a needle is used to create pop-art designs,&rdquo; she explains.
In 2017, after pursuing law in Mumbai, Patole moved to Sydney for an advanced diploma in hospitality, using her time to work in Lebanon, Cantonese, and Greek kitchens. &ldquo;My dad wanted me to be a CA, but I knew I had to do something creative,&rdquo; she confesses. Later, she joined her father in Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic. She spent the last few years baking and working in hot kitchens across restaurants. Last November, she started an experiment in her test kitchen. &ldquo;Jello shots brands inspired me in New York and Barcelona. My first water-based version didn&rsquo;t work. I made my sister the scapegoat for the trials using different kinds of gelling agents like agar-agar, gelatine, seaweed gelatine and the other variants,&rdquo; says Patole, who roped in a professional bartender to help master the recipes.
Easy to store, they can last in the fridge for 2-3 days, and when served, they can sit out for an hour at a cool temperature. In her Santacruz East home kitchen, Patole is now experimenting with making Rizzlers with liquid-centre spheres using the reverse specification method. This molecular gastronomy technique encapsulates liquids &mdash; including those with high alcohol or calcium content, such as dairy or fruit juice &mdash; into spheres with a thin, gel-like membrane. &ldquo;The ones you put in your mouth and burst,&rdquo; she signs off, revealing the idea behind the name. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s jello shots with a rizz.&rdquo;
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