Sunday, May 01, 2016

The Shirley Temple Mocktail

Are you anything like me whenever you go on YouTube?

I go there to search for one thing, yet I inevitably seem to get distracted by clicking the videos on the sidebar so that before I know it (and sometimes THREE hours later), find myself watching videos
I had no intention of watching. I end up getting sidetracked and lost in what I refer to as the "YouTube Abyss."

Well, such as it was last week when I came across a short documentary (and don't ask me how the hell I got there) on the life of Shirley Temple. I immediately had flashbacks of watching Shirley Temple movies with my mother on Saturday afternoons because she absolutely LOVED her. But not only did it bring back memories of the adorable child star singing and tap dancing, it also reminded me of the drink Shirley Temple.

Do any of you remember a Shirley Temple?

The red non-alcoholic concoction takes me back to my childhood when I was small but trying to look big by asking my parents if I could order the mocktail that mimicked an adult cocktail. And of course, my parents always allowed my younger brother and I to do so whenever we went out to a restaurant for dinner. In fact, my father got a kick out of saying to us, "Now be sure to sip them slowly because you don't want to get drunk."

Ordering a Shirley Temple made me feel like SUCH a grown-up. And I would even order them with TWO cherries - hot damn!

Anyway, I decided to do some research on the Shirley Temple to find out where it originated, and discovered this...

As it turns out, “America’s Little Darling” as she’s been called, was not involved in the invention of the beverage. Apparently the Shirley Temple was created in the 1930's by the Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood, and she had nothing to do with it.

I even read that Shirley Temple herself didn't even like the taste of the drink because it was too sweet.

Here are two different recipes I found online about how-to-make-a-Shirley Temple:

The Original Shirley Temple

Ice
1 tbsp. grenadine
½ cup lemon-lime soda
¼ cup orange juice
1 maraschino cherry

*In a tall glass, add ice, grenadine, lemon-lime soda and orange juice. Stir and top with a cherry.

The Modern Shirley Temple

Ice
1 tbsp. grenadine
1 cup lemon-lime soda or ginger ale
1 maraschino cherry
1 slice of orange, garnish

*In a tall glass, add ice, grenadine and lemon-lime soda. Top with a cherry and garnish with an orange slice.

Oddly enough though, I don't ever remember drinking a Shirley Temple either of those ways, I recall the recipe being much simpler:

Ice
Ginger Ale
2 maraschino cherries
and a splash of maraschino cherry juice (for added taste and color)

But then again, after drinking two Shirley Temples with TWO cherries, I was probably so drunk that I couldn't really remember what the recipe included. Because I was having too much fun dancing around the restaurant, pretending I was Shirley Temple, and singing, On The Good Ship Lollipop....

Have a smashingly fabulous week, y'all!

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