Restless Chipotle

  • About
  • Recipes
  • Videos
  • Shop
  • Community
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Videos
  • Shop
  • Community
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Videos
  • Shop
  • Community
×
Home » Recipes » Mother's Day Recipes

Dirty Shirley Cocktail with Vanilla Vodka: for Grown Ups Only

Updated: Jul 30, 2024 by Marye

Fizzy and sweet - you'll love this grown up version of the Shirley Temple! Be sure to use a good grenadine because it makes all the difference.
Total time for the recipe to be finished.Total Time 5 minutes minutes
Jump to Recipe
A dirty shirley cocktail in a balloon glass.

A Dirty Shirley Cocktail is the grown up version of the sweet, bubbly drink your parents used to get you when you went out to eat. Made with ginger ale, grenadine, maraschino cherries and vanilla vodka it might just become your new drink bff.

For this recipe you'll need: vanilla vodka, maraschino cherries, grenadine, ginger ale or ginger beer (the spicier the better), and ice

A red cocktail with pink striped straws in it sits on a lace topped table. Text says "Dirty Shirley Cocktail"
Table of Contents
  • Grown Up Version of Your Childhood Fav
  • Dirty Shirley with Vanilla Vodka
  • More Favorite Cocktails
  • You May Need
  • Dirty Shirley Cocktail Recipe
  • 📖 Recipe
  • Share Your Images
  • 💬 Comments

Grown Up Version of Your Childhood Fav

When I was little going to a restaurant was a very big deal. Nowadays it's common to go out to eat several times a month but back then?

Not so much.

It was the age of dressing up to go to the grocery store. Poufy dresses, patent leather shoes, little white gloves... they were all part of the ensemble whenever a public appearance was required.

Best manners, best clothes, best behavior.

When we did go our I was allowed to get a Shirley Temple which seemed very special and grown up. It was a pretty red drink with plenty of fizz and a cherry in the bottom of the glass.

These days I still love the Shirley Temple, but like me, she's grown up and gotten a bit more worldly.

Into sweet, girly drinks? Try this creme de violette cocktail, too.

Dirty Shirley with Vanilla Vodka

Although many recipes call for cherry vodka I prefer plain or vanilla vodka in this recipe. It might be because those vodkas are less cloyingly sweet than the cherry vodka OR it could be that I got horribly sick on cherry vodka when I was 16.

Either way - feel free to use whatever kind of vodka you prefer.

More Favorite Cocktails

I do love a good cocktail! Here are some of my favorite cocktail recipes - give them a try.

  • Electric Lemonade is bright blue... think of it as the adult version of blue Kool Aid.
  • Sex in the Driveway has the weirdest name ever but it it so good.
  • Spiked Arnold Palmer so refreshing for summer sipping.
  • Durango Cocktail is similar to a Paloma.
  • Bourbon Peach Tea tastes like summer in the South!

Another absolutely refreshing cocktail named after an actress is the Ginger Rogers. SO GOOD!

You May Need

What's new? Check out my Restless Chipotle & Co. Store on Amazon where you'll find all kinds of nostalgic goodness!  Thanks so much for being a part of Restless Chipotle!

You can laugh at me if you want but my favorite part of the drink was the cocktail umbrella!

A red cocktail is on a piece of lace and surrounded by pink flowers.

Dirty Shirley Cocktail Recipe

I like this cocktail made with ginger beer - the spicier the better. You could make it with lemon-lime soda as well.

📖 Recipe

A dirty shirley cocktail in a balloon glass.

Dirty Shirley Cocktail

4.82 from 11 votes
Print Rate Recipe
Fizzy and sweet - you'll love this grown up version of the Shirley Temple! Be sure to use a good grenadine because it makes all the difference.
Course Beverage - Cocktail
Cuisine Amercian Heritage
Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes minutes
Servings:1
Calories:273
Author:Marye Audet-White

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces vanilla vodka
  • 1 ounce grenadine
  • 6 ounces ginger ale
  • 1 maraschino cherry
  • 1 lime wheel

Instructions

  • Fill a shaker with ice and add the vanilla vodka and grenadine.
  • Shake well.
  • Strain into a chilled glass full of ice.
  • Add the ginger ale.
  • Add the cherry and lime garnish.

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 273kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 0g | Fat: 0g | Saturated Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 20mg | Sugar: 29g | Iron: 0.3mg

Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.

Love this recipe?

Subscribe to the free membership group and never miss another recipe!

Share Your Images

More Mother's Day Recipes

  • Closeup of a slice of pink cream pie with cherries on top on a white plate.
    Millionaire Pie Recipe
  • A marble plate displays a strawberry bundt cake with 2 slices cut to show the red cake color.
    Old-Fashioned Strawberry Pound Cake with Cream Cheese
  • A square of lemon cheesecake on a flowered plate with a lemon slice on top.
    Woolworth's Cheesecake Recipe (No-Bake Lemon Dessert)
  • Top of the pie showing texture of the filling.
    Shoney's Strawberry Pie (with Jello)

Love it? Share it!

573 shares
  • Facebook
  • Flipboard

About Marye

Marye Audet-White is a professional food writer, New York Times bestselling cookbook author, and founder of Restless Chipotle, where she shares Southern comfort food, yeast breads, and from-scratch recipes tested in real kitchens. She’s known for explaining the little technique details that keep recipes from going off the rails, so home cooks can count on what comes out of the oven actually tasting good.

Comments

No Comments

4.82 from 11 votes (11 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Love it? Give it 5 stars!




Marye Audet-White, founder of Restless Chipotle Media

Hey Y'all, I'm Marye

Welcome to my kitchen! ☕

NY Times bestselling author. 10 cookbooks. Mom of 8 kids. Homeschooling mom for 22 years. Addicted to Hallmark Christmas Movies. Collector of old cookbooks.

Find out more

☕ Join Our Free Community

A circular stamp that says Restless Chipotle Community.

Join our free community to ask questions, get encouragement, laugh, share recipes, and more. Click here.

🌞 Summer Flavors

  • Closeup overhead view of the macaroni salad in a bowl with a spoon in it for serving.
    BBQ Macaroni Salad with Smoky-Sweet Dressing
  • Closeup of a serving of cobbler and ice cream.
    Peach Blueberry Cobbler
  • A square of the red, white, and blue Jello poke cake being served.
    Patriotic Jello Poke Cake with Pudding Frosting
  • Overhead view of a skillet of baked beans with a spoon in it.
    29 Best Cookout Side Dishes

🫖 Picklefork Stories

Picklefork town crest.
Cozy short audio stories about small town life. Click here to visit Picklefork

👑 Reader Favorites

  • Square overhead of chicken for feature image.
    Crockpot Angel Chicken Recipe (5-Minute Prep, Ridiculously Good)
  • Close up of the sauce showing the creamy texture.
    Copycat Red Robin Campfire Sauce Recipe
  • Wooden spatula removing fried potatoes out of iron skillet.
    Crispy Pan-Fried Potatoes (Just Like Grandma Made)
  • Closeup of chicken and rice for feature image.
    Crockpot Smothered Chicken
  • A sliced loaf of english muffin bread.
    Easy English Muffin Bread – No Knead, Perfect for Toasting!
  • Two finished loaves of Amish white bread cooling on a table.
    No-Fail Amish White Bread

📚 Romantasy Reader?

Logo for Restless Raven Press.

Recipes aren’t my only obsession. I write fiction, too. Join the Restless Raven email list and get a spicy deleted scene (rated r) from Captured by the Dark Fae. Cozy mystery series (rated pg) coming soon!

Footer

^ back to top

About

  • About Marye Audet-White
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Contact
MaryeAudet Whiteandherchildren Dec

Featured In:

Places Restless Chipotle has been featured

We improve our products and advertising by using Microsoft Clarity to see how you use our website. By using our site, you agree that we and Microsoft can collect and use this data. Our privacy statement has more details.

Copyright ©2006 - 2025 Restless Chipotle Media, LLC

Picklefork Tales Copyright ©2025 Marye Audet, Restless Chipotle Media

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




Let us know what you thought of this recipe:

This worked exactly as written, thanks!
My family loved this!
Thank you for sharing this recipe

Or write in your own words:

A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.