The Virgin Classics
Shirley Temple
A Shirley Temple is the drink that turns ginger ale into an occasion: dry, peppery bubbles poured over a slick of grenadine and finished with a cherry that stains the ice pink. The ginger ale carries the spice and the fizz, while the grenadine — properly a pomegranate syrup — does the heavy lifting on flavor, adding a sweet-tart, faintly floral depth and that unmistakable sunset color as it blooms up from the bottom of the glass. Balanced right, it lands crisp and refreshing rather than cloying, with the cherry as a sweet full stop.
It is the original bar-stool order for anyone not drinking — the one that taught a generation how to order at the rail — and it has quietly become a fixture of the zero-proof menu, equally at home at a kid's birthday and a dry happy hour. The make-or-break detail is the grenadine: the neon bottle most kitchens reach for is little more than sweetener and red dye, while real pomegranate grenadine, bottled or homemade, gives the drink a darker, jammier color and an acidity that keeps it from tasting flat. Pour the grenadine first and resist the urge to overdo it — a half-ounce is plenty, and any more tips the whole glass into syrup.
- Prep
- 3 min
- Total
- 3 min
- Makes
- 1 drink
- Calories
- ~125 per serving
Ingredients
- 1/2 oz (15 ml) grenadine, preferably real pomegranate-based
- 6 oz (180 ml) chilled ginger ale
- Cubed ice, to fill
- Maraschino cherry, to garnish
- Orange or lime wheel, to garnish (optional)
How to make it
- 1
Fill the glass
Fill a chilled Collins or highball glass to the top with cubed ice. A full glass keeps the drink cold and the bubbles lively.
- 2
Add the grenadine
Pour the grenadine straight over the ice. Because it is denser than soda, it sinks and pools at the bottom, setting up the signature gradient.
- 3
Top with ginger ale
Slowly pour in the chilled ginger ale, stopping just short of the rim. A gentle pour preserves the fizz and the layered color.
- 4
Garnish and serve
Drop in a maraschino cherry and, if you like, an orange or lime wheel. Serve with a stir stick so the drinker can blend the grenadine through just before sipping.
Bartender’s notes
- Use real pomegranate grenadine when you can. The common bright-red syrup is mostly sweetener, citric acid, and dye; a pomegranate-based bottling, or a quick homemade batch, tastes tart and jammy instead of one-note sweet.
- Keep the ratio honest: about 1/2 oz grenadine to 6 oz ginger ale. Overpouring the syrup is the most common mistake and turns the drink cloying and flat-tasting.
- Pour the grenadine first, over plenty of ice, for the sunset fade from red to pale gold. Give it a stir to unify the color and even out the sweetness before serving.
- A splash of the syrup from the maraschino cherry jar deepens the pink and adds a touch more cherry flavor if you want it sweeter.
Variations
- Roy Rogers: swap the ginger ale for cola to make the darker, cola-spiced sibling of the same drink.
- Real-pomegranate upgrade: use a pomegranate grenadine such as Giffard, or simmer equal parts pomegranate juice and sugar into your own syrup.
- Grown-up and dry: cut the grenadine slightly, add a squeeze of fresh lime, and finish with a few dashes of a zero-proof aromatic bitters such as Strongwater for a less-sweet, more complex glass.
Bottles that make it better
Non-alcoholic brands from our directory that fit this build — each page lists where to find them near you.
Giffard
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Giffard is a family-owned French liqueur and syrup house founded in 1885 in the Loire Valley, now in its fifth generation of family ownership. Its non-alcoholic Aperitif Bitter syrup is a widely-used substitute for Campari in zero-proof Negronis and Spritzes, built on bitter orange, gentian root, quinquina, and spice. Giffard also produces a Spritz Alcohol Free expression. The non-alcoholic range is positioned as a cocktail-mixer rather than a bottled spirit.
Where to find Giffard →Strongwater
0.0% (NA cocktails, canned mixers & syrups are completely alcohol-free per the brand's FAQ; traditional bitters use a small alcohol base as a flavoring extract)
Denver-based mixers, bitters, syrups, and non-alcoholic aperitif brand founded in 2014 by chemist Nick Andresen. Crafted from whole-plant botanical infusions, their Aperitif Spritz won the 2025 Bartender Spirits Awards Non-Alcoholic Product of the Year.
Where to find Strongwater →Rather have it made for you?
These verified bars and restaurants pour shirley temple-style builds from their own zero-proof menus — no shaker required.
Frequently asked
A classic Shirley Temple made with ginger ale is caffeine-free, since ginger ale contains no caffeine. If you build it on a cola base instead, it will carry the caffeine that comes with that soda, while a lemon-lime base stays caffeine-free.