Dirty Shirley Cocktail

This pretty drink is the alcohol spiked version of a Shirley Temple mocktail. It’s got a pretty red color and a sweet and fizzy flavor. This one is perfect for sipping most any time.

What is a Dirty Shirley Cocktail?

A dirty Shirley cocktail is a combination of vodka, grenadine, Sprite and garnished with a maraschino cherry. This super easy drink tastes like a fizzy sweet cherry soda with a little bite of vodka.

This is a nice way to spruce up a plain vodka and sprite.

The vodka in this cocktail is the only ingredient that has alcohol in it. It does stand out a little in this cocktail, so it’s nice to use a mid or top tier vodka such as Stoli or Gray goose.

Grenadine is a sweet red syrup. It’s what adds the pretty color to this drink. It’s actually made of pomegranate, but most people feel like it tastes like cherries.

For the lemon lime soda, we really like to add sprite zero (there are many mixed drinks with sprite that are popular) to cut down on the calories and sugar. However, you can use any lemon lime soda that you prefer.

When to Make This Drink:

This sweet, pretty and easy to make cocktail can be served up for instances light:

• summertime sipping
• Valentine’s Day
• brunch
• afternoon drinks

Variations:

If you need to substitute an ingredient or maybe change this one up a little, give a few of these fun ideas a spin:

• Use a different soda. We like to use Sprite zero. But you can use regular Sprite or 7-Up or even a soda-like ginger ale.
• Use a flavored vodka. Instead of plain vodka use a cherry vodka or a citrus vodka.
• Use a little bit of flavored simple syrup. Toss in a dash of flavored simple syrup like cherry simple syrup or lemon simple syrup.
• An extra citrus twist. Add a splash of orange juice to add a little extra sweet citrus to this drink.
• Make it as a pitcher. Need to make this as a large batch? Make sure grenadine and vodka together and a pitcher. And then serve it and individual glasses just topping with soda as needed.

How to make this drink:

You should be able to talk this stuff together in about 3 minutes. It’s super easy you just add everything to your glass.

Equipment:

• highball glass
• jigger
• cocktail shaker
• Hawthorne strainer
• bar spoon

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Vodka
• 1 oz Grenadine
• 4 oz Sprite
• (optional garnish) marachino cherry
• Ice

Instructions:

Step one

Collect everything necessary for this cocktail including grenadine, lemon lime soda, vodka, maraschino cherry, bar spoon, highball glass, ice and jigger.

Step two

Toss enough ice into your glass so that it is completely filled to the top.

Step three

Pick up the grenadine. Measure out 1 oz of grenadine with a jigger and toss it into the bottom of the glass.

Step four

Pick up the vodka. Measure out 2 oz of vodka with a jigger and toss it into the bottom of the glass.

Step Five

Pick up the Sprite. Measure out 4 ounces of Sprite and pour it into the glass.

Alternatively, you can simply pour the Sprite directly into the glass to top it off.

Toss a maraschino cherry or two on top and your drink is ready.

Recipe