Shirley Temple
Build ∙ 2 min ∙
The Shirley Temple is a non-alcoholic mocktail of grenadine, lemon juice, and ginger ale served long over ice, named after the child film star. Fizzy and bright with a tart edge, it sips light and refreshing, finishing clean and gently sweet without ever feeling syrupy or heavy.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Pour the ingredients into the glass: Grenadine syrup 10 mlLemon juice 10 mlGinger ale 150 ml
- Fill with ice and then briefly stir
- Garnish with an orange wheel and a maraschino cherry on a skewer
Tips
- Pour the grenadine and lemon juice before the ginger ale so they layer and mix evenly rather than pooling at the bottom.
- Stir only briefly once the ice goes in — over-stirring knocks the fizz out of the ginger ale.
- Pre-chill the glass so the ice melts slowly and doesn't water down the lemon-grenadine balance.
- Use fresh lemon juice rather than bottled; it keeps the sweetness from the grenadine and ginger ale in check.
History
The Shirley Temple, a non-alcoholic mix of ginger ale and grenadine topped with a maraschino cherry, takes its name from the child film star of the 1930s. Its origin is disputed among several claimants: the most repeated story credits a bartender at Chasen's restaurant in West Hollywood with mixing it so the young actress could join adults with a drink of her own, while other accounts trace it instead to the Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood, and still others to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu, which she visited in 1935. Most versions of the story agree the drink was created because Temple wanted something to sip while the grown-ups around her had cocktails.
Temple herself dismissed all the restaurant legends. In a 1986 NPR interview she said the drink was "created in the probably middle 1930s by the Brown Derby Restaurant in Hollywood" and that she had nothing to do with it, adding that she disliked its sweetness. In 1988, after a company tried to market a bottled soda under her name, she sued to stop the use, arguing her name was not a generic term, and won.
FAQ
What is a Shirley Temple made of?
Grenadine syrup, fresh lemon juice, and ginger ale, built over ice in a highball glass and garnished with an orange wheel and a maraschino cherry. It is entirely non-alcoholic, at 0% ABV.
What is a Shirley Temple called when it has alcohol?
An alcoholic version is commonly called a Dirty Shirley, made by adding a splash of vodka to this same build.
Why is it called a Dirty Shirley?
It is called a Dirty Shirley because adding vodka to the originally non-alcoholic Shirley Temple "dirties" the innocent kids' drink into a cocktail for adults.
What's the male version of a Shirley Temple called?
A Roy Rogers is the traditional counterpart, made the same way with cola in place of ginger ale.
Is a Shirley Temple made with Sprite or 7UP?
Neither — this build uses ginger ale rather than a lemon-lime soda, which gives it a gentle spice some Sprite or 7UP versions lack.