Dirty Shirley Drink

The Dirty Shirley Drink is a grown-up version of the kids’ cocktail! Dusted with vodka, it contains the classic pink grenadine.

Love a Shirley Temple but want something more… growing up? There’s an adult version for that: die Dirty Drink Shirley! Add vodka to this classic kid’s cocktail and you have an alcoholic version of everyone’s favorite mocktail. Of course, it still has all the fun elements of childhood: Electric Pink Grenadine and Fizzy Ginger Ale. It’s the ideal drink for a kid at heart!

What’s in a Dirty Shirley drink?

The Dirty Shirley is a Shirley Temple infused with vodka, the famous soft drink made from grenadine and ginger ale. The drink was invented in the 1930s and then named after the famous actress, who herself described the children’s cocktail as “too sweet”. The original drink used ginger ale or ginger beer, but over time it has traditionally been made with lemon-lime ale (read Sprite).

How do you make a Dirty Shirley drink? Add vodka to the classic, along with a squeeze of lime to balance out the flavors. What you need for a Dirty Shirley:

• vodka
• grenadine
• lime juice
• Ginger beer or ginger ale

How sweet is this drink?

Similar to the classic Shirley Temple, the Dirty Shirley is a sweet drink. In fact, we prefer a slightly more balanced drink with some tart flavors in the mix. Something like a Vodka Gimlet, a Vodka Mojito or a Vodka Sour are more to our liking. But those who like sweets will also appreciate this drink: especially if you’re a grenadine fan!

Use store-bought or homemade grenadine

What constitutes a Dirty Shirley drink? The grenadine! Grenadine Syrup is a pomegranate flavored bar syrup used in many popular cocktails and mocktails. You can find it purchased, but it often contains artificial colors or flavors. Here’s how you can make it at home too! Here’s what you need to know about buying grenadine:

• Try the homemade grenadine. The best homemade grenadine syrup uses pomegranate seeds to make juice and then boils it down into syrup. You can get decent colors, but they’re not as bright as artificial colors.
• Opt for a store-bought, purely natural grenadine if you wish. But remember that the color will not be that bright. Most natural grenadines are more of a dark mud-red color.
• What other drinks use grenadine? Try Tequila Sunrise, Vodka Sunrise, Clover Club, Malibu Sunset or other grenadine cocktails.

More highball drinks like the Dirty Shirley

The Dirty Shirley is a highball cocktail: a drink that has a higher proportion of non-alcoholic mix than spirits! There are many famous highballs, here are some related drinks you might want to try:

When to serve a Dirty Shirley drink

The Dirty Shirley Drink is ideal to accompany Shirley Temple mocktails for children! (Don’t mix them.) It’s a bubbly, sweet cocktail that’s perfect for sipping as: