A grown-up version of the classic Shirley Temple mocktail, the “Dirty Shirley” is a sweet blend of lemon-lime soda and cherry flavor, with a vodka kick!
The “Flirty Shirley” Drink
The Dirty Shirley cocktail is a boozy version of the classic Shirley Temple non-alcoholic drink. Instead of calling it dirty, I call it flirty, because it’s just for fun! And with the bright colors and sweet taste, there’s nothing dirty about this drink!
Fair warning, this is a SWEET drink! Even though I don’t usually drink a lot of sweet cocktails, I just love this one because it has a lot of history for me…I loved Shirley Temples (the mocktail) as a kid!
Growing up, our family had a local Chinese restaurant that we visited every week. It was also where our extended family had our holiday dinner at Christmas time. We became close with the owner and he would cook for us family-style. We didn’t order…he just cooked! Those are some of my favorite memories of our big family coming together to laugh and eat awesome food.
Every time we stopped in to eat dinner, the owner’s wife would make me a Shirley Temple drink. We didn’t have soda at home, so this was a super special treat for me! Plus I loved cherries, and there were always a couple in my drink.
This “Flirty Shirley” aka Dirty Shirley drink, is the alcoholic version of the classic cocktail, with the addition of vodka to make it a grown-up treat.
This is a super easy drink to make, with only 3 ingredients and no cocktail shaker needed. You don’t have to be a bartender to pull this off…all you need is vodka, soda, and grenadine…and a couple minutes to put it all together!
Why is it Called a Shirley Temple drink?
Shirley Temple Black was a famous child actress, perhaps the most famous child actor of all time!
As the legend goes, Shirley used to frequent Hollywood restaurants with her parents, managers, etc. Naturally, they would all enjoy grown-up beverages.
Since Shirley was a little girl and could not have what the adults were drinking, the bartender started making her a special drink so she could feel fancy too. This drink was made with lemon-lime soda and grenadine, topped with a maraschino cherry.
It’s such a simple drink, but it’s beautiful to look at and tastes delicious too! No wonder it has stood the test of time!
Interestingly, I read somewhere that years later, as an adult, Shirley admitted that she wasn’t a huge fan of the sweet drink. Whether or not that’s true, I’m glad that the drink was created because it was such a fun memory for me as a kid!
Ingredients
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- Vodka — You can use plain vodka (which is traditional) or cherry vodka for extra flavor!
- Grenadine syrup — or cherry juice
- Lemon lime soda — Such as Sprite or 7up
What Does Grenadine Taste Like?
Because of its bright-red coloring, grenadine is often thought to be a cherry-based syrup. And while the flavor is reminiscent of maraschino cherries, real grenadine is actually made from pomegranate juice.
That being said, many of the common brands of grenadine that you’ll find at the grocery store are not made from fruit at all and are primarily sugar or corn syrup. This is definitely what was used in the drinks of my childhood and what I remember fondly. I’m definitely not a drink snob in this regard — I want that classic bright red syrupy-sweet grenadine in my Shirley Temple drinks!
Directions
Just like the original mocktail, it is super easy to make the grown up version of the Shirley Temple!
- Fill a glass completely with ice.
- Add vodka.
- Pour grenadine over ice.
- Fill remainder of glass with soda. Garnish with a cherry.
Prep Tips
- I like the look of the grenadine slowly mixing in the drink. However, you can also stir after you add all the ingredients to the glass, to make the drink a bright red color.
- Do not use a cocktail shaker to make this drink. Shaking soda is a recipe for making a mess!
- To make a pitcher, multiple ingredient amounts by 3-4 (depending on the size of your pitcher). Keep refrigerated until you’re ready to serve, then pour into glasses filled with ice cubes. I recommend not adding ice to the pitcher itself, to avoid watering down the drink.
- Because of the bright red color, this makes a festive drink to serve at the holidays, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day!
More Easy Cocktail Recipes
- Thanksgiving Margaritas
- Sparkling Pink Paloma Cocktail Recipe
- Christmas Margarita Recipe
- Cupid’s Valentine Punch
- Peach Rum Punch
- Banana Sunrise Rum Drink
- Crown Apple Cider
- “Pink Panties” Frozen Drink Recipe
- Creamy Caramel “Moonshine”
Dirty Shirley Temple Drink Recipe (Printable Copy)
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Dirty Shirley Drink Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 oz vodka
- 1 oz grenadine syrup or cherry juice
- 4 oz lemon lime soda
Instructions
- Fill a glass with ice.
- Add vodka, then grenadine.
- Fill remainder of the glass with soda and garnish with a cherry.
Notes
Nutrition
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