Shirley Temple

By Becky Hughes

Published May 10, 2022

  • Two shirley temples are photographed from the side against a black background.
    Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Victoria Granof.
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This beloved kids’ drink was named after the late child star Shirley Temple Black, although she had no involvement in its invention in the 1930s. Saccharine to many adult palates, the grenadine-and-soda mocktail feels grown-up to kids, who delight at its bright red color, cherry garnish and hefty sugar content. (An adult version named the Dirty Shirley tempers its sweetness with the addition of vodka.) There’s no right answer to the debate surrounding lemon-lime soda (like Sprite or 7Up) versus ginger ale. Haley Traub, the general manager of the cocktail bar Attaboy on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, suspects the divergence is regional. Growing up in Minnesota, she says “it was always Sprite. It wasn’t until I moved to the East Coast that I’d ever heard it being made with ginger ale.” Soda options vary, but there is one nonnegotiable here: a cherry on top.

Featured in: Is the Dirty Shirley the Drink of the Summer?

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Ingredients

Yield:1 drink

  • Ice

  • 1 ounce grenadine

  • 8 ounces lemon-lime soda (such as Sprite or 7Up) or ginger ale

  • 1 maraschino cherry, for garnish

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

44 grams carbs; 175 calories; 28 milligrams sodium; 36 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Fill a highball or other tall, narrow glass with ice. Add grenadine, then top with soda. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
222 user ratings
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Comments

Chibouste

We ordered them as kids in the 70s in MA and they were made with ginger ale and grenadine and always garnished with a cherry AND an orange slice. A Roy Rodgers is similar, but has Coke/Pepsi as the soda. Good times!

Jen

Grew up on Shirley Temple's in the '70's. We always used ginger ale. This is a much beloved drink in our family, my sister will still order one today as a mocktail if she doesn't want a boozy drink, and our nieces and nephews always clamor for a sip.

Anne

This might be a Canadian thing, but Shirley Temples here are made with lemon-lime soda, orange juice and grenadine. Same goes for the Roy Rogers. Sounds gross but I can tell you, I have drank many in my childhood (and my kids less so).

Diana Lynn

This recipe just took me back to my childhood days when my mom and dad would take us out to what was, to us, the fancy special occasion restaurant Poli’s in Squirrel Hill. Great Italian food and Shirley Temples all around for the kids. Poli’s is long gone, as is childhood, but the memories of good times, and Shirley Temples, remain.

JDM

Only holidays; on rare occasion at a fancy-fancy restaurant; as an adult when the mood strikes! My folks never used grenadine but maraschino cherry liquid and 7up. Dang, if I only them I wouldn’t be writing this right now!

JEG

In Wisconsin, where I grew up, these are known as Kiddie Cocktails and are always made with Ginger Ale.

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Credits

By Becky Hughes

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