The Dirty Shirley Is a Dirty Delight

We may not have grown up when Shirley Temple was a Hollywood darling but we still have fond memories of the drink named in her honor. Just like the drink, our memories are simple and sweet.

When we were young, back in the 1970s, the Shirley Temple drink was something we imbibed at weddings and during family vacations. Crafted with ginger ale, grenadine and lime juice, those special occasion drinks were simultaneously sweet and tart. Plus, they had maraschino cherries added for good measure.

Color us surprised when we heard that a grown up version called the Dirty Shirley is now a hot summer cocktail. Once we got that memo, it didn’t take long before we were sipping ruby red Dirty Shirleys at home.

Discover more colorful cocktails and summer cocktails that you can craft at home.

A Dirty Shirley cocktail is a grown up version of the non-alcoholic Shirley Temple drink.

It’s a simple drink that requires just four ingredients plus ice. Like its inspiration, it’s sweet, refreshing and ridiculously easy to craft without any special equipment.

The history of the Dirty Shirley dates back to the 1930s when bars looked to craft an alternative non-alcoholic drink for kids. The drink, typically made with ginger ale and grenadine, became an immediate hit that has since passed the test of time.

For later generations who may be unfamiliar, Shirley Temple was the IT child movie star of her time. She acted, danced and sang songs like On the Good Ship Lollipop. Her impressive roster of movies includes Heidi, The Little Princess, Bright Eyes and Curly Top.

While it’s crystal clear that Shirley Temple didn’t create the drink named in her honor, nobody knows for sure who actually invented the classic mocktail. Some cocktail historians trace the Shirley Temple’s roots to bartenders at iconic Hollywood bars like Chasen’s and The Brown Derby (both now closed). Others claim it was first served at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki.

At some point, bartenders and home mixologists started playing with the ingredients and adding alcohol to the mix. It’s no dirty secret how the Dirty Shirley was born. It kind of just happened.

Good news! You probably already have all of the ingredients necessary to craft a Dirty Shirley at home. If not, you should be able to find the following items at a local market and/or liquor store:

Ingredient quantities are detailed in the printable recipe card below.

Any vodka should work in this Dirty Shirley recipe. You can use your favorite bottle even it it’s flavored. We choose to use unflavored Absolut Vodka produced in Sweden. It has a 40% ABV and mixes well in this and other cocktails.

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However, we strongly recommend that you use Monin grenadine syrup unless you prefer to make your own grenadine syrup from scratch. The French company doesn’t add any artificial colors or flavors to its bright red pomegranate syrup which makes it better than other commercial grenadine syrups.

Discover our favorite grenadine cocktails.

The first step in this recipe is to measure the vodka and grenadine syrup, immediately pouring each into a highball glass filled partway with ice.For this step, we use a Japanese jigger to ensure accurate measurements and avoid spillage.

Buy a Japanese jigger from Amazon if you need a jigger or want an inexpensive upgrade.

Gently stir the vodka and grenadine syrup. We use a bar spoon but you can use any long spoon in your utensil drawer.

The Dirty Shirley just might hit your cocktail sweet spot. If not, here are a few variation which you may prefer:

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