When I was young Dad would occasionally take Mom, me and my three siblings to a restaurant. This was a once-in-awhile treat, as feeding six was expensive enough, let alone going to a restaurant. After quite a bit of researching I came up with the Rustic Hideaway, 1943-1983 and later became the Buckhorn Tavern from 1983 to the present (Dayton, Ohio). I believe this restaurant is where I had my first Shirley Temple. The restaurant must be doing well as it’s still going strong after 71 years!

It is located along the Stillwater River, a tributary of the Great Miami River. It’s a few miles from where we use to live and was open when our family would have gone there. I remember the nearby river and the casual feel of the restaurant – it would have to be with 4 young kids in tow! I found out at least two drinks are named after movie stars as part of their menu now; Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra. I bet Shirley Temple mocktails or maybe even “dirty” ones as well are served too; I just couldn’t find any mention of this iconic mocktail.

I know I was thrilled to get one but in checking with my two surviving siblings they did not recall eating there and drinking this beverage. My sister, Terri, was very young and my brother, Mike, remembered other things in our childhood. For some reason I thought this was special as it obviously had lasting memories for me, however faint, but it was a long time ago.

I bought a cocktails/mocktails magazine from Whole Foods, thinking about giving it to a nephew who was into making cocktails. I bought two, gave one to my nephew Travis and kept the other one. There were two recipes for “Shirley Temples” and the memories started to flow about this red drink I once enjoyed as a child!

Shirley Temples are said to be the first mocktail and invented in the 1930’s at Chasens, a restaurant in Beverly Hills, California. Restaurants/bars still offer these to their customers and often include a “dirty” version with vodka. As a matter of fact I received an email from Food52 on Dec. 31, 2024 while working on this post; they gave a recipe “Adult Shirley Temple Pitcher Cocktail.” Recipe is included below.

A Shirley Temple can be different whether the base is ginger ale, sprite, club soda or orange juice or by what fruit is used as a garnish such as lemon, limes, oranges or more common, maraschino cherries. Grenadine (see two homemade recipes below) is always an ingredient and in some cases cherry juice replaced the grenadine. Sometimes sparkling water is used to cut the sweetness. There are some disagreements about the origins and ingredients but its popularity was its red color, sweet taste and association with Hollywood glamour.

Please note child actress Shirley Temple never did endorse this mocktail. It was fun in an era marked by the Great Depression and the looming threat of World War II. Simple things lifted their spirits and I know it did for me many years later.

The first two recipes are from the magazine Cocktails and Mocktails: 95 Holiday Sippers at liquor.com. The third recipe is a “dirty” version from Food52.

Comments on first two recipes:

• they were both refreshing but I remember a red not a pink cocktail
• club soda has no calories and I did use sweetened ginger ale
• I did not need to add any sparkling water to cut the sweetness of the cocktail using ginger ale
• in the drinks I could not tell any difference between the two homemade grenadines except the one using the pomegranate molasses was thicker and seemed darker
• when I tasted both grenadines with a spoon I preferred the one which used the pomegranate molasses
• the best part was the Luxardo maraschino cherries, candied – so delicious and perfect for an adult beverage or on top of some French vanilla ice cream
• I liked the look of the stems in the Mezzetta cherries and the flavor was good but no comparison to the Luxardo

Here are a few cherry varieties you can try, ranging from the sticky sweet grocery version to more sophisticated and expensive Luxardo cherries or amarena cherries from Italy.

Fabbri Amarena Cherries – Made in Italy and comes in a beautiful blue/white ceramic jar (ordered online). They are unlike your common cocktail or maraschino cherries; they are meant to impress with their perfect sweet-tart flavor!

Luxardo Maraschino Cherries – Another made in Italy (ordered online) and made with sour marasca cherries with a dense, chewy texture and sweet-tart flavor.

Mezzetta Maraschino Cherries with stems found in many grocery stores and are naturally sweet and bright in color. Add to a fruit salad, a scoop of ice cream and of course, a Shirley Temple.

Jumbo Cherries Dessert Topping that are bright red and are available at most stores. Great for baking, drinking, snacking and very sweet.