Sascha – Shirley Temple
Before Sydney Sweeney’s great jeans, Kim Kardashian’s skimpy shapewear, or even Jennifer Aniston’s signature hair cut, there was Shirley Temple. Temple was America’s number one box office draw from 1934 through 1938, one of the original “triple threats” as a dancer, singer, and actress. Temple’s influence continued after her Hollywood days through her service as a United States Ambassador and the Chief Protocol Officer under Presidents Ford and Nixon. Despite all this success, Shirley Temple’s fame is most profound in an ordinary location: every dinner table, everywhere. This fame is timeless and well deserved.
The Shirley Temple drink is best known as a kids’ table classic. Some restaurants refer to it as a “kiddie cocktail,” which demeans both its namesake and its influence. The classic Shirley Temple drink is made of Sprite or 7-Up, grenadine syrup, and bright red maraschino cherries. My first Shirley made me feel mature, like I had graduated from juice boxes and kid’s cup root beers. I had graduated to a real drink, one that included multiple ingredients like my parents’ and grandparents’ classics of Seven and Seven or Chivas on the rocks with a twist. Ordering a Shirley Temple was more than a method to quench my thirst on a hot day or satisfy my ever present sweet tooth: it was a symbol of sophistication and maturity.
As I’ve grown up, I haven’t grown past my love of Shirley Temples. Every Sweet Sixteen or Summer House dinner, at least one glass, sometimes even a pitcher, filled with my favorite red beverage occupies the table. The magic of a Shirley Temple truly never fades. The sweet sensation of grenadine gracing my tastebuds coupled with the bubbliness of the 7-Up will always perk me up and center the dining experience as something more than just an average meal at home.
Shirley Temples can come in different shades, colors, sizes, and even flavors. When Owen and I took our research to the streets and restaurants of Chicago, we discovered a near tangle of Temples. Our first destination presented a gourmet, upscale Shirley––one made with black cherry grenadine. Although this Shirley lacked the vibrant red coloring and exhilarating taste of red dye 40, it quenched the thirst and provided the same emotional high of the candy-apple-red original Shirley. The black cherry flavoring teased a more mature and nuanced experience that some (Owen) may argue the traditional Shirley lacks. Our next destination proffered the classic Shirley: fiery red grenadine, highly carbonated 7 Up, and six or seven whole maraschino cherries bobbing on the bubbles in the glass. This classic Shirley was the closest we found to true perfection, with a beautiful balance of bubbles and sweetness to offer real refreshment on a hot July day.
Unlike other drinks, such as Owen’s beloved Arnold Palmer, Shirley Temples aren’t just a seasonal delicacy. Shirley’s are a year-round classic that provide color, light, and whimsy to lunch and dinner tables from summer brunch to Christmas dinner. From the table at Thanksgiving dinner, when the crisp November air nips at your nose, to a sunny and sticky Fourth of July barbeque, Shirley Temples are appealing and craveable 365 days of the year. I know I can find a Shirley Temple at any brunch or dinner with my friends, no matter the season or climate. Unlike the seasonal Arnold Palmer, which really only makes an appearance in mainstream media during the summer and frequently only among those in the golf world, Shirley remains timeless. When Labor Day comes around, Arnold’s legacy, and his unbalanced blend of iced tea and lemonade, slowly slip into hibernation and are forgotten by most until the weather report is over 75 degrees and the golf courses begin to resemble something other than desolate landscapes with strangely placed and shaped sandboxes. Shirley knows no such limits.
Shirley Temples aren’t just superior because of their timelessness but also due to their consistency. During our tasting trials for this piece, even Owen couldn’t dispute that many restaurants serve Arnold Palmers unmixed, with a clear line dividing the lemonade and iced tea. Try as one might, it’s nearly impossible to get the perfect mix in an Arnold Palmer. The result is either the bitter taste of iced tea or the sweet taste of lemonade without the supposed refreshment of a mixed drink. Shirley Temples, however, are delicious no matter the way they’re mixed or concocted. With a mere swish of a straw, the grenadine and soda mix into a gorgeous medley of flavors and a beautiful shade of pink––the deliciousness of a Shirley Temple is effortless.
The mix of syrup and soda isn’t just delicious. It’s symbolic too. Shirley Temple wasn’t just a child star in Hollywood, a feat in itself, but she was a politician and activist who strived to make positive change in society. Temple was the US Ambassador to Czechoslovakia during the pivotal time when the Czech economy was transitioning from communism to capitalism. Temple’s role benefitted not only her interests but also those of the United States and the citizens of Czechoslovakia as a whole. Temple also served as an ambassador for Ghana in 1974, a time when many infrastructure changes were occurring in the African nation. For me, drinking a Shirley Temple has become not just about the sweetness of the drink or the abundance of cherry flavor but the influence of a feminist role model that I feel seeping into my taste buds each time I take a sip. Temple’s on-screen success and the societal changes that she provoked make me feel unstoppable each time I order a Shirley Temple, like a part of her legacy lives on every time I submerge a straw into my favorite concoction.
Shirley Temples aren’t just a timeless, effortlessly delicious drink. They are so much more: they’re the legacy of an influential, powerful woman who was a trailblazer of her time, and a successful actress who used her platform to make change in every corner of the world. So even though it may be deemed immature or merely a “kiddie cocktail,” a Shirley Temple carries so much more nuance and complexity than what meets the eye.
Zeller – Arnold Palmer
Ninety-two professional wins, 62 PGA Tour titles, one signature drink. Before his death in 2016, Arnold Palmer had accumulated one of the most impressive and successful careers in golf, and, arguably, the greatest mocktail ever created.
The Arnold Palmer came from a drink the golfer would order regularly on tour, a combination of tea and lemonade of his own creation. Palmer was caught ordering his specialty beverage in public, and a woman nearby heard and asked for “that Palmer drink,” then popularizing and cementing it in liquid legacy. Palmer’s lifestyle became the envy of every golf fan, and drinking his special concoction brought them that much closer to his legacy. Over time, the Arnold Palmer has evolved into a staple at any restaurant or supermarket in the country, and the world. With this enormous popularity, many variations of the Arnold Palmer have emerged.
I’ve narrowed it down to three types. First, there’s the classic. If you order an Arnold Palmer at any random restaurant or bar, you get a basic combination of brewed tea and Minute Maid lemonade. If you’re lucky, a lemon is included, but the cheaper ingredients and reluctant mixing makes for an underwhelming beverage. At the end of the day, it’s reliable, that’s it. The second variation is store-bought. This is your Arizona Half-and-Half, even your organic Swoon stuff–– the point is it’s portable and easily packaged, with lots of twists and flavors that expand on the original concept. Obviously, with this being the Arnold Palmer made with the least amount of elbow grease, you can’t really taste the legacy. No visions of golf courses or sun-soaked patios come to mind, just a factory processed distortion of Palmer’s original vision. Finally, if you’re looking for the greatest Arnold Palmer variation, look no further than a truly freshly made organic half and half. Freshly brewed tea, organic lemons cold-pressed – if you can find a place that serves their own specialty Arnold Palmer, you’re in luck. This variation leaves any other summer drink behind–– essentially the perfect drink for those perfect three months every year. With a drink so immaculate, it’s hard to see any other mocktail taking the spotlight.
I can see the argument for the Shirley Temple. It’s your first chance as a kid to order something other than a soft drink or water, and it’s sweet and colorful. What it is, is cute. No self-respecting adult, or teenager for that matter, orders a Shirley Temple. Arnold Palmers resemble that next step, that more mature drink that shows class, independence, intelligence. When you drink a Shirley Temple, it doesn’t hit you a certain way – there’s no real perfect time or place when a Shirley Temple gets the job done. Twilight on a warm summer night after a hot day, you’re sitting on a sunsoaked porch and a small wind gust hits your face. What makes this moment so special? An Arnold Palmer. Multi-faceted, less sweet––it commands respect. You’re sipping legacy.
An Arnold Palmer holds more than just tea and lemonade. It’s a timeless mix of two distinct flavors masterfully mixed by a legendary golfer. Shirley Temple famously hated the drink she was named after––I don’t blame her. On the course to find the perfect summer drink, the choice is clear. Real legacy lasts. Arnold Palmer’s name will ring in the halls of bars and restaurants for decades, and thirsty patrons will be partaking in a true legacy that has been enjoyed by golf and non-golf fans alike for generations. At least with this drink, they’ll be enjoying a true story of mixology, not a sweet-toothed urban legend.
