Shirley Temple – Simple Kiddie Cocktail

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

A Shirley Temple drink is the perfect kiddie cocktail for a special occasion or holiday. It’s so easy to make and the drink requires just two ingredients!

A glass with a Shirley Temple non-alcoholic cocktail, Maraschino cherry, and straw

I remember when I was a kid that my friends and I would order this cocktail from the bar every time we were at a wedding. Drinking Shirley Temples made us feel so grown up and sophisticated!

My parents never thought of making this at home, but it is truly so easy that there’s no good reason not to!

Ingredients

The drink requires just two ingredients:

  • grenadine (I make homemade grenadine made from pomegranate juice and sugar, but store-bought grenadine like Rose’s [paid link] is the classic choice. In a pinch, you can use the liquid from the maraschino cherry jar as the grenadine; it’s a close substitute, but it is a little less thick and potent so you may need more of it.)
  • lemon-lime soda (like Sprite or 7-Up) or ginger ale

How It’s Made

To make the cocktail, fill a glass with ice. Pour in soda until the glass is 90 percent full and then top it off with grenadine. You can adjust the proportions – more grenadine to make it sweeter or less to reduce the sweetness.

pouring homemade grenadine into a glass of lemon-lime soda in order to make a Shirley Temple non-alcoholic cocktail

To get the full grown-up experience, be sure to garnish the cocktail with a maraschino cherry.

placing a Maraschino cherry into a Shirley Temple non-alcoholic cocktail

You can also rim the glass with colored sugar or Pixy Stix! To do that:

  1. Pour the colored sugar or contents of pixy stix into a bowl the width of the rim of your glass.
  2. Invert the glass and dip its rim into a bowl of cold water.
  3. Keep the glass inverted and place into the bowl with colored sugar. The sugar will stick to the wet rim!

Expert Tips and FAQs

Serving a Crowd

To make Shirley Temples for a crowd, you can fill a punch bowl with ice and lemon-lime soda and then add grenadine. Stir well and taste as you go until you are happy with the proportions.

Float lots of maraschino cherries in the punch bowl!

What’s the Difference Between a Shirley Temple and a Roy Rogers?

A Roy Rogers is nearly the same as a Shirley Temple but it uses cola instead of lemon-lime soda or ginger ale.

Is there an adult version of this mocktail?

If you are an adult and have always loved Shirley Temples, try adding some alcohol to the drink. A Shirley Temple with booze is called a Dirty Shirley.

A Dirty Shirley is typically made by adding vodka and ginger beer to the drink. Try using Luxardo cherries instead of regular maraschino cherries for this version.

Did you make this recipe? Leave a review!
A glass with a Shirley Temple non-alcoholic cocktail, Maraschino cherry, and straw
Print Pin
5 from 1 vote

Shirley Temple

The Shirley Temple drink is a classic kiddie cocktail.
Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Prep Time 1 minute
Total Time 1 minute
Servings 1
Calories 189kcal
Author Stefani

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Fill glass with ice cubes.
  • Pour in soda.
  • Top with grenadine.
  • Stir and optionally garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Notes

Use cola instead of lemon-lime soda to make a Roy Rogers cocktail.
Add less grenadine to make this recipe less sweet.
You can scale this recipe to make a Shirley Temple punch.

Nutrition

Calories: 189kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Sodium: 33mg | Sugar: 41g
Have you tried this recipe?Click here to leave a comment and rating!
5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Be the first to leave a comment!

    Show All Comments