Dirty Shirley Temples

The Dirty Shirley Temple is made with ginger ale, grenadine, maraschino cherries and vodka to turn a favorite childhood beverage into an adult one!

I remember as a child going out to eat with my family and on occasion, we were allowed to get soda! It was always a treat and my favorite drink to order was a shirley temple so this cocktail takes me back in time… but adds in some vodka because I am a grown up now. Okay, I am not going to lie- I make regular shirley temples all the time with my kids too! They just taste so delicious.

Dirty Shirley Temples

Here is what you need for a Dirty Shirley Temple:

1. Vodka .Recommend a cherry flavored but regular is fine. We used Titos today.
2. Grenadine
3. Ginger ale (7 up can also work)
4. Maraschino cherry
5. Cherry Moonshine. This is optional to swap the vodka or you can use the cherries from the moonshine for a garnish to swap marashino cherries)

You can jazz up your Dirty Shirley Temples! Go with a cherry vodka to add more flavor and make a homemade grenadine from pomegranate juice. Homemade grenadine is awesome! Give it a try or just get a store bought grenadine.  You can also grab some moonshine cherries to garnish just for a little extra punch. I thought about skipping the vodka and going with moonshine altogether but I’m not in my 20’s anymore and moonshine always has the last laugh with me. I can’t lay in bed with a hangover with kids running around. But hey, if you are on board with the moonshine- swap it with the vodka!

Garnish

To make the cherry garnish sticks, you just need toothpicks. Depending on the width of your glass, 2 toothpicks should work per garnish. Just thread the cherries through a toothpick, add a second toothpick to add more length and cherries if needed to fit on glass.

 

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What was your favorite childhood drink? Have you ever had a shirley temple? Let me know in the comments below.