Cocktail Atlas

Shirley Temple

Ginger ale with grenadine and a little fresh lime over ice, finished with a cherry. Sweet, fizzy and ready in a minute.

Cocktail Atlas · Updated

Spirit
Non-Alcoholic
Glass
Highball glass
Method
Built
Difficulty
Beginner

Spec: Standard spec (ginger ale, grenadine, lime; as documented by Cocktail Society)

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Shirley Temple

Ingredients

Ingredients for Shirley Temple. Tick each one as you add it.
AddedMeasureIngredient
2 tsp
2 tsp
4½ oz

Steps

  1. Fill a highball glass with ice.
  2. Add the grenadine and lime juice.
  3. Top with ginger ale and stir gently.
  4. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Garnish Maraschino cherry

cocktailatlas.com/cocktail/shirley-temple/

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Batch it For a party of 4–20

Makes 8 drinks, about 41¼ oz · 1240 ml before ice.

Shirley Temple batch
AmountIngredient
2⅔ oz · 80 mlGrenadine
2⅔ oz · 80 mlFresh lime juice
36 oz · 1080 mlGinger ale

No added water: this drink takes its dilution from the ice in the glass. Chill the batch and build each glass over ice.

Use a 2 liter pitcher, or split it between two 1 liter bottles.

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Why it works

The Shirley Temple works because each ingredient covers a different job. Ginger ale brings fizz and a mild spice, grenadine adds sweetness, fruit and the red color, and a little fresh lime keeps the drink from tasting like soda alone. Building it over ice and stirring gently mixes the grenadine without knocking out the bubbles. The cherry finishes it with one last sweet bite.

Substitutions

  • Lemon-lime soda in place of ginger ale makes a sweeter, less spicy drink.
  • A real pomegranate grenadine tastes fruitier and less sugary than bright red syrups.
  • Lemon juice works in place of lime.

Variations

Questions

Is a Shirley Temple non-alcoholic?
Yes. It is ginger ale, grenadine and lime. Commercial ginger ale is a soft drink.
Ginger ale or lemon-lime soda?
Both are common. Ginger ale adds a little spice; lemon-lime soda is sweeter.
What is grenadine?
A sweet red syrup traditionally made from pomegranate. Check the label; many brands are mostly sugar and coloring.

Making it: Shirley Temple

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