SHIRLEY TEMPLE RECIPE

What do you get when you mix together grenadine syrup and soda? A non-alcoholic beverage known as a Shirley Temple. Everyone has probably heard of this drink but have you ever had one? I recently made this classic American drink for my kids to enjoy while watching the hit play Hamilton about one of the country's Founding Fathers on the Disney+ streaming service.

Here is how you make some of these sweet treats for yourself. Get some lemon lime soda like 7 Up or ginger ale such as Vernors. Pick up some Torani Grenadine Syrup. Don't know what grenadine is? Grenadine is a syrup used for mixed drinks made of pomegranate juice sweetened with sugar and made tart with lemon juice. Plus you'll want to grab a jar of maraschino cherries.

Fill a glass with ice. Pour in the Torani Grenadine Syrup (1 oz for every 8 oz of soda or ginger ale). Add the lemon lime soda or ginger ale next to fill the glass. Place a maraschino cherry or two on a tooth pick. Use that to stir up the drink to mix together the grenadine with the soda. Then use the cherry for a garnishment. There you have it ... a Shirley Temple.

To be honest a Shirley Temple tastes to me like Cherry 7-Up, but it is something out of the ordinary to sip on which can make an occasion unique or extra special. If lemon lime soda or ginger ale isn't to your liking try a Roy Rogers which is the same recipe but with a dark cola used for its base instead. My kids were excited that I made us all Shirley Temples as a sweet treat for some family time watching HAMILTON together.

Have you seen the Disney+ broadcast of the Broadway Production of this Tony Award winning musical? What did you think? I have to admit I've found myself humming some of the songs since watching it.

So how did the Shirley Temple get named after the famous child star of the 1930s? There are a variety of claims to who named it. One account is a bartender at Chasen's in Beverly Hills created the mocktail for the actress to honor her celebrating her 10th birthday with family and friends at the restaurant. Another story is The Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki invented the drink because Shirley Temple was a frequent guest there. The Brown Derby in Hollywood also lays claim to naming the drink because it had a number of alcoholic drinks named after celebrities and wanted something appealing to patrons who brought their children along with them to the restaurant.

While it is not known for certain who started calling this sweet concoction of grenadine and ginger ale a Shirley Temple, the actress made it known she wasn't a fan herself of the mocktail. Shirley Temple made it known that she never liked the drink and was opposed to the notion of cocktails, even if they were non-alcoholic mocktails, being being marketed to kids. It is the opinion of this dad blogger though that having a Shirley Temple is thought of as more as a fun specialty drink than a non-alcoholic version of a cocktail. So I don't mind my kids indulging in a Shirley Temple from time to time.