Shirley Temple
The original American mocktail: cold ginger ale and a pour of grenadine over ice, with two maraschino cherries, the pink drink named for a child star who said she never liked it.
The story is that the drink was made in the 1930s so child star Shirley Temple would have something festive to sip among the grownups. Wikipedia says it may have been created at Chasen's in West Hollywood, and that other restaurants also claim it); search results add the Brown Derby and the Royal Hawaiian in Honolulu as rival claimants. Temple herself, in an NPR interview with Scott Simon that Wikipedia cites, credited the Brown Derby in the mid-1930s, said she had nothing to do with it, and called the drinks "too sweet". In 1988 she sued to stop a bottled soda from using her name (Wikipedia, citing The New York Times). Difford's Guide notes she appeared in 42 films before retiring from acting in 1950 and later served as a US ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia as Shirley Temple Black. This drink contains no alcohol.
🇺🇸 This one is American
The original American mocktail: cold ginger ale and a pour of grenadine over ice, with two maraschino cherries, the pink drink named for a child star who said she never liked it.
🇨🇺 The original
The original daiquiri is three things shaken hard with ice: Cuban white rum, fresh lime juice and sugar, served straight up and very cold. See the Cuban Daiquiri recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Grenadine sinks
The dense syrup falls to the bottom and blushes upward, which is the whole pink sunrise effect.
Ginger ale, not ginger beer
Mild, sweet ginger ale keeps it kid-friendly; spicy ginger beer would overpower it.
Step by step
- Step 1
Method: Built. Chill a tall Collins glass in the freezer for 5 minutes, then fill it with ice cubes.
- Step 2
Pour in the ginger ale, leaving about 1 inch at the top.
- Step 3
Add the lemon juice now, if using.
- Step 4
Slowly pour the grenadine down the inside of the glass; it is heavier than soda and sinks into a red layer at the bottom.
- Step 5
Serve it layered for the look, or give it one slow stir (2 seconds) for an even pink.
- Step 6
Add the cherries on a pick and the citrus wheel, and serve with a straw.
Shirley Temple
Serves 1 · 1 drink (alcohol-free) · 2 min total
Drink
- 6 oz (180 ml) cold ginger ale
- 1/2 oz (15 ml, 1 tbsp) grenadine
- 1/3 oz (10 ml) fresh lemon juice (optional, makes it less sweet)
- Ice cubes
Garnish
- 2 maraschino cherries, on a pick
- 1 lemon or orange wheel (optional)
Method
- Method: Built. Chill a tall Collins glass in the freezer for 5 minutes, then fill it with ice cubes.
- Pour in the ginger ale, leaving about 1 inch at the top.
- Add the lemon juice now, if using.
- Slowly pour the grenadine down the inside of the glass; it is heavier than soda and sinks into a red layer at the bottom.
- Serve it layered for the look, or give it one slow stir (2 seconds) for an even pink.
- Add the cherries on a pick and the citrus wheel, and serve with a straw.
Adapted from Difford's Guide, "Shirley Temple": 1/4 oz grenadine, 1/3 oz fresh lemon juice and 5 1/2 oz ginger ale poured into a chilled Collins glass and filled with ice, garnished with a lemon wheel and a maraschino cherry; Difford's lists it as alcohol-free. Wikipedia describes the traditional drink as ginger ale with a splash of grenadine and a maraschino cherry. We use 1/2 oz grenadine for the classic deep pink, 6 oz ginger ale, Difford's lemon as an option, and two cherries. diffordsguide.com. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- Pomegranate-based grenadine is tarter and less candy-like than bright red corn-syrup grenadine.
- Lemon-lime soda instead of ginger ale is a common American variation (Wikipedia).
- With 1 1/2 oz of vodka or rum added it becomes a "Dirty Shirley" (Wikipedia) and is no longer alcohol-free; this recipe has none.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Chasen's invented it for Shirley Temple. Disputed: Wikipedia names Chasen's as a possible origin; Temple herself credited the Brown Derby; the Royal Hawaiian also claims it (search summaries).
- Shirley Temple loved her namesake drink. Documented as false: in an NPR interview cited by Wikipedia she said she disliked it as "too sweet".
- It is the first mocktail. Folklore: a popular label (an NPR piece from 2014 called it "the original mocktail", per a search summary of Wikipedia's sources); nobody can prove it was first.
- A Shirley Temple uses ginger ale. Disputed in practice: ginger ale is traditional; lemon-lime soda versions are common (Wikipedia).
Every other cocktail
Classic Margarita
Blanco tequila, orange liqueur and fresh lime, shaken hard and poured over fresh ice in a half salt-rimmed glass: the sour that Mexico, Texas and California all claim.
Frozen Margarita (Dallas, 1971)
The margarita as Texas made it famous: tequila, orange liqueur, lime and a little syrup blended with crushed ice into a smooth, spoonable slush, the drink a Dallas restaurateur put in a machine in 1971.
Cuban Daiquiri
The original daiquiri is not pink and not frozen: white rum, fresh lime and a little sugar, shaken ice cold and strained into a chilled coupe, the way it was made in Cuba before America put it in a blender.
Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri
How America remade the Cuban daiquiri: white rum, lime and sugar blended with frozen strawberries and crushed ice into a thick red slush, the version that came with the electric blender.
Cuban Mojito
Havana's highball: mint pressed gently with lime and sugar, white rum, a mound of crushed ice and a splash of soda, built and churned right in the glass.
Negroni (and the Americano)
Equal parts gin, red bitter aperitivo and sweet vermouth, stirred cold and served over one big cube with orange: Italy's bittersweet classic, plus the older "American-style" Americano it came from.
Old Fashioned (the Whiskey Cocktail)
The drink that defined the word cocktail: whiskey, a little sugar, bitters and water, stirred over one big cube with an orange peel, before fruit salad got muddled into it.
Manhattan
Rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters stirred ice cold and served up with a cherry: New York's whiskey classic, and a famous origin story that cannot be true.
Tom Collins
Gin, lemon and sugar shaken, poured over ice in a tall glass and lengthened with soda: a sparkling lemonade for grownups, named, maybe, after a newspaper hoax.
Moscow Mule
Vodka, fresh lime and spicy ginger beer over ice in a cold copper mug: the 1940s American drink that sold a nation on vodka, and its famous mug.
Piña Colada (Caribe Hilton style)
Puerto Rico's official drink: white rum, sweet cream of coconut, a splash of heavy cream and fresh pineapple juice blended with ice, the way the Caribe Hilton shares its 1954 recipe.
Mai Tai (Trader Vic, 1944)
The real mai tai is not pink and has no pineapple juice: aged rum, lime, orange curaçao, almond orgeat and a touch of syrup, shaken and poured over crushed ice with mint and a spent lime shell.
Paloma
Mexico's everyday highball: blanco tequila, a squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt topped with cold grapefruit soda over ice, built in the glass in under two minutes.
Gin and Tonic
London dry gin and cold tonic water over plenty of ice with a squeeze of lime: the two-ingredient highball with a malaria-medicine backstory that is half history and half legend.
Virgin Mojito (Nojito)
All the mint, lime and fizz of a mojito with no alcohol at all: mint pressed with lime and syrup, crushed ice and plenty of club soda, built in the glass in four minutes.
Meatballs of the World
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Big, tender meatballs braised for an hour in red sauce over spaghetti. The one most Americans grew up with.
Pallottine (Abruzzo Meatballs)
Tiny meatballs, smaller than a marble, tossed right through square spaghetti alla chitarra. No bread at all.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
Danish Frikadeller
Pork meatballs shaped with a spoon and fried slowly in butter, crusty outside and soft in the middle.
Königsberger Klopse
German meatballs that are never fried: poached, then served in a creamy white sauce with capers.
Spanish Albóndigas in Almond Saffron Sauce
The tapas bar classic: small meatballs in a golden sauce thickened with fried almonds and bread.
Mexican Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
Soft meatballs with rice and fresh mint inside, simmered in a smoky tomato and chipotle broth.
Izgara Köfte (Turkish Grilled Meatballs)
Small, flat meatballs kneaded hard, rested cold, and charred on a hot grill pan.
Lion's Head Meatballs
Big, soft pork meatballs, stirred into a sticky paste, fried to set, then braised in a savory sauce.
Chicken Tsukune
Japan's chicken meatball: kneaded sticky, grilled on skewers, glazed with sweet soy tare, dipped in egg yolk.