Shirley Temple
Ginger ale and grenadine with a cherry. The drink that taught generations of children what a cocktail glass feels like — and much better made with real grenadine.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Fill a collins glass with ice.
Add the ginger ale, and the lemon juice if you are using it.
Pour the grenadine down the inside of the glass so it sinks and pools at the bottom.
Garnish with a cherry. Let the drinker stir it in.
A thoughtful finish
- Use real grenadine — pomegranate, sugar, a little orange flower water. The fluorescent red syrup sold under the name is just sugar and dye, and it is why this drink has a bad reputation.
- A quarter-ounce of lemon juice transforms it. Shirley Temple's own complaint was that it is too sweet, and a little acid fixes exactly that.
- Pour the grenadine last and slowly, so it sinks. The gradient is half the appeal for the person drinking it.
Common mistakes
- Using cheap bright-red grenadine, which tastes of nothing but sugar.
- Over-pouring the grenadine. Half an ounce in six ounces of ginger ale is plenty.
- Serving it in a tumbler. If the point is to give someone a proper drink, give them proper glassware.
A few good questions.
What is real grenadine?
Pomegranate juice reduced with sugar, often with a little orange flower water. It is tart and deep red-brown, not neon. You can make it at home with pomegranate juice and sugar in minutes.
Ginger ale or lemon-lime soda?
Ginger ale is traditional and better — it has a little bite. Lemon-lime soda makes a sweeter, flatter drink.
What is a Roy Rogers?
The same idea with cola instead of ginger ale, named for the cowboy actor. A Dirty Shirley adds vodka.
Did Shirley Temple like it?
No. She said publicly that it was too sweet and that she found the whole thing irritating, and she litigated over bottled versions using her name.
Variations
- Roy Rogers — Cola in place of ginger ale.
- Dirty Shirley — The same drink with vodka.
- Arnold Palmer — Iced tea and lemonade.
- Virgin Mojito — Mint, lime and soda.
Where it comes from
c. 1930s · Los Angeles, California
Contested. More than one origin is claimed for this drink. We show the competing accounts rather than pick one.
Named for the child film star, and claimed by at least three Los Angeles establishments in the 1930s — Chasen’s, the Brown Derby and the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu have all been credited. Shirley Temple herself disliked the association and said in interviews that the drink was ‘horrid’ and too sweet, and she later took legal action over commercial use of her name on bottled versions. No single origin is documented.
Sources
- Shirley Temple Black, interviews, various (interview)
- Los Angeles restaurant histories, competing claims, 1930s (periodical)
A little character in every sip.
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