Name: Shirley Temples
Prep time: 5 min
Ingredients: 2 L 7-Up, Sprite, ginger ale, or another type of lemon-lime soda (chilled); 1/2-3/4 cup cherry grenadine ((1-1.5 Tbsp per glass)); 1 naval orange; 16 maraschino cherries ((2 per glass))

Alright everyone, I’m back today with a recipe for Shirley Temples, which was my first experience of a non-alcoholic “mocktail” ever. This drink comes with lots of good memories and plenty of good enjoyment for me!

This beautiful beverage is a non-alcoholic cocktail, named for the child actress, Shirley Temple. It is a mixture of 7-up, ginger ale, or some type of lemon-lime soda and cherry grenadine, garnished with maraschino cherries and in this case, a twist of orange. They are also sometimes made with orange juice, but for this tutorial I’m sticking with a nice cold, bubbly soda.

Who was Shirley Temple?

Shirley Temple is an American actress who became famous as a child in the 1930’s for her singing, dancing and acting abilities. I remember watching several of her movies as a young child, enjoying her sweet personality and golden ringlets; she was so endearing, and to this day I still love some of her movies.

What is a Shirley Temple drink?

As I mentioned before, a Shirley Temple is a mocktail (non-alcoholic cocktail) made with lemon-lime soda or ginger ale and cherry grenadine. The exact origin of the drink is unknown (as far as I have found), but there are rumours that it came to be at a fancy dinner party that Shirley was at with her parents. The restaurant waiter allegedly came up with this drink as a way to include Shirley in the party while the adults enjoyed their cocktails together.

shirley temple mocktail in a long cup with a pink umbrella with orange slices in the background

What are some similar drinks?

Other similar mocktails would be a Roy Rogers (basically the same as a Shirley Temple, just made with coke instead of a light soda), or an Arnold Palmer, a mixture of lemonade and iced tea.

When & where to serve mocktails

Serve them at parties, serve them at home, serve them wherever you like. These pretty drinks are fun for kids and adults alike, and they taste delicious – In fact, as I write this, I’m about 1/2 way through my 4th pregnancy, and I could totally go for one of these right now.

Why I love this drink

I remember my sister (I am one of 12 kids, 10 of whom are girls) making these for us at home just for a special treat, since my grandparents used to order them for us at Swiss Chalet sometimes and the memory was a fond one. We all enjoyed them so much, and since that time, any time we had a special girls’ night or fun occasion to make fancy, we enjoyed (and continue to enjoy) making these drinks again!

I love that you can make these for kids, and since I have decided not to drink alcohol in my life in general, this is just a fun way to make a party or event more special for me as well.

Note: I don’t go into the details on my decision not to drink, but if you’d like to learn a bit more about me you can check out that section of my blog for more details!

shirley temple mocktail in a long cup with a sword toothpick and yellow umbrella with garnishes in the background

You will need:

Clear 8-oz glasses
Sword cocktail toothpicks
Cocktail umbrellas
7-Up, Sprite, ginger ale or another type of lemon-lime soda
Cherry grenadine
1 naval orange
Maraschino cherries

Ready to learn how to make them?

Scroll down for the recipe!

Shirley Temples

This easy "Mocktail" is a great, simple, non-alcoholic beverage to make any party a little more fun!

Course beverages

Cuisine American

Keyword mocktail, non-alcoholic, shirley temple

Prep Time 5 minutes

Servings 8

Author Naomi

Ingredients

2 L 7-Up, Sprite, ginger ale, or another type of lemon-lime soda chilled
1/2-3/4 cup cherry grenadine (1-1.5 Tbsp per glass)
1 naval orange
16 maraschino cherries (2 per glass)

Instructions

Gather your ingredients and make sure your glasses are cleaned.
Wash and slice the orange as thinly as you can. You can use a whole round orange slice with one slit cut from the bottom to the middle, or if you prefer you can cut each slice in half.
Twist the orange slices, and skewer them through the rind with a toothpick sword. Stick a couple of cherries on the sword beneath the rind, to hold it in place and to finish the garnish. Set aside, and repeat with the remaining oranges and cherries to complete 1 orange/cherry garnish per glass.
Pour 1 to 1-1/2 Tbsp. cherry grenadine into each cup, and then fill each cup with about 1 cup (8oz/250ml) soda. Top with your orange and cherry garnishes, and finish with a toothpick umbrella. Serve immediately.

orange slices, maraschino cherries, empty glass, cocktail umbrellas, and sword toothpicks on a bamboo mat

maraschino cherries in a bowl with sliced oranges in the background

sword toothpicks and cocktail umbrellas on a white plate

thinly sliced oranges and maraschino cherries on a cutting board

glass with cherry grenadine and mocktail garnishes in the background

shirley temple mocktail in a long cup with a pink umbrella with garnishes in the background

So pretty, aren’t they? And so simple. Sometimes I feel like you just need someone to show you a picture of something like this to remind you how easy it is to make simple things more special.

Just one quick note – If you haven’t made them already and figured this out on your own – Pour slowly. Getting all of the liquid in there without the fizz flying all over the world is an art form.

A final question

Did you watch Shirley Temple movies as a child? If so, what was your favourite? Leave me a note in the comments!

Back soon,

–Naomi

NaomiCakes

A Blog about Food, Family, Life & Cake

Shirley Temples [Recipe]