Shirley Temple
The original mocktail. Ginger ale, grenadine and a cherry — plus how to make it taste like a real drink instead of a sugar bomb.
- Prep
- 3 min
- Serves
- 1
- Glass
- Highball
- Difficulty
- Easy
Ingredients
- 4 oz ginger ale (or lemon-lime soda)
- 0.5 oz grenadine
- 0.25 oz fresh lime juice (optional, but recommended)
- Maraschino cherry, to garnish
- Ice
Method
- 1Fill a highball glass with ice.
- 2Add the ginger ale, leaving room at the top.
- 3Add the lime juice if using, then pour the grenadine slowly down the inside of the glass so it settles at the bottom and layers.
- 4Garnish with a cherry. Stir before drinking, or leave the gradient and let it mix as you go.
Notes
- The lime is the whole upgrade. Grenadine and soda alone is very sweet; a quarter ounce of acid turns it into something balanced.
- Use real grenadine (pomegranate) rather than the neon corn-syrup kind — it's the difference between fruit and candy.
- Ginger ale makes a noticeably better version than lemon-lime soda, because the ginger's bite does what the acid does.
Common questions
What is a Shirley Temple made of?
Ginger ale or lemon-lime soda with grenadine, garnished with a maraschino cherry. It was named after the child actress and is the most widely known non-alcoholic mixed drink there is.
What's the difference between a Shirley Temple and a Roy Rogers?
A Shirley Temple uses a clear soda — ginger ale or lemon-lime. A Roy Rogers uses cola. Both take grenadine and a cherry.
Make one of these next
- Egg Cream
New York's soda-fountain classic. No egg, no cream — and the pouring order is the entire recipe.
- Cherry Limeade
The American drive-in classic — tart lime, real cherry, plenty of ice.
- Moscow Mule Mocktail
Ginger, lime and bite. The mule loses less to going alcohol-free than almost any other classic.
A new recipe each month
Plus new venues and a Dry January plan when it comes round.