Shirley Temple Recipe: The Classic Kids Mocktail (3 Ingredients)

This Shirley Temple recipe is the iconic kids mocktail – pink at the bottom from grenadine, clear ginger ale on top, ice, a maraschino cherry. The Shirley Temple recipe below is the classic 1930s version, with one optional Indian-friendly twist.

The Shirley Temple is the first mocktail every Indian kid ordered at a hotel pool sometime in the 1990s. Bright pink, fizzy, with a cherry on top that you ate first. The drink was invented in the 1930s at Chasen restaurant in Hollywood to give the child star something fancy to drink while adults had cocktails. Eighty years later it still works.

Three ingredients. Two minutes. No skill required. The only thing that separates a good Shirley Temple from a bad one is whether you let the grenadine sit at the bottom for that pink-to-clear ombre or stir it in. Always let it settle.

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The classic kids mocktail – chilled ginger ale, grenadine syrup, fresh lime, and a maraschino cherry. Three ingredients, two minutes.

• Total Time: 2 minutes
• Yield: 1 1x

Ingredients

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• 150 ml chilled ginger ale (or lemon-lime soda for the milder version)
• 1 tbsp grenadine syrup
• 1 tsp fresh lime juice
• 1 maraschino cherry
• 1 lime wedge or orange slice, to garnish
• Crushed ice

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Instructions

1. Fill the glass. Pack a tall glass with crushed ice to the brim.
2. Add grenadine. Pour grenadine syrup directly into the bottom of the glass. It will settle and create the pink base.
3. Top with ginger ale. Pour chilled ginger ale slowly down the side of the glass so the grenadine stays at the bottom, creating a pink-to-clear gradient.
4. Finish. Add lime juice, drop in the cherry, garnish with a lime wedge or orange slice. Serve immediately with a straw.

Notes

The cherry is non-negotiable. The drink is named after Shirley Temple specifically because of the cherry on top. Without it, you are just drinking pink ginger ale.

• Author: ManVsDrinks
• Prep Time: 2 minutes
• Cook Time: 0 minutes
• Category: Mocktail
• Method: Built
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 glass
• Calories: 130

Why this works

Grenadine is pomegranate syrup – sweet, tart, deeply red. Ginger ale brings bubbles, mild spice, and refreshment. Lime cuts through the sweetness so the drink does not become cloying. The cherry on top is theatre. Together, three things that do not seem like a drink make a perfect one.

Pro tips

• Pour ginger ale slowly down a spoon. Keeps the grenadine at the bottom for the ombre effect.
• Use real grenadine. Cheap grenadine is just red dye and corn syrup. Look for one that lists pomegranate.
• Chill the ginger ale hard. Warmer ginger ale fizzes out fast.
• Crushed ice over cubes. Looks better in a tall glass and keeps the drink colder.
• Add an orange wheel for the Roy Rogers cousin. Same drink with cola instead of ginger ale.

Variations

• Roy Rogers: swap ginger ale for chilled cola. The boys version.
• Shirley Temple Black: add 30 ml cherry juice for the deeper, more adult version.
• Sparkling Shirley: swap ginger ale for chilled prosecco for adult version (not a mocktail anymore).
• Indian Shirley Temple: add 1/4 tsp grated ginger and a pinch of black salt. Stronger, more interesting.

Common mistakes

• Stirring the grenadine in. Kills the ombre. Pour slowly and let it settle.
• Using fake grenadine. Cheap pink syrup tastes like cough medicine.
• Skipping the cherry. The whole drink is named after it.
• Warm ginger ale. Loses fizz on contact with ice.

More classic mocktails

Add other crowd-pleasers to your repertoire – our Virgin Mojito, Virgin Daiquiri, or Virgin Pina Colada. Full guide on Best Summer Mocktails in India.

Mastering the Shirley Temple recipe ombre

The Shirley Temple recipe lives or dies by the layered ombre effect. Pour the grenadine at the bottom and let it settle. Pour chilled ginger ale slowly down the side of the glass so the Shirley Temple recipe shows a clear pink-to-clear gradient. A stirred Shirley Temple recipe is just pink ginger ale – fine to drink, missing the magic. Add a pinch of kala namak for the Indian-friendly Shirley Temple recipe variation.