The Best Grenadine Brands For A Deliciously Sweet Shirley Temple

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

You don't have to like animal crackers in your soup to enjoy a Shirley Temple. The mix of ginger ale, cherries, and grenadine tastes like nostalgia, sparkling with snappy fruit flavors. It's the go-to, presumably sober, beverage for designated drivers and those too young to remember Ms. Temple on their screens (who, ironically, despised the drink named after herself). Unless you're that one kid who reviews Shirley Temples for a living, you probably didn't care what was in the delicious glass of soda sliding your way, just the taste of sweet cherry-red syrup.

Chowhound spoke with an expert to find out which grenadine will best recapture those nostalgic memories. Molly Horn, chief mixologist and spirits educator at Total Wine & More, recommends the classic Rose's or Barsmith brands of the syrup. Popular commercial grenadines like these are what most restaurants will use for non-alcoholic Shirley Temples. They're affordable, easy to find, and have the right balance of syrupy and smooth texture for mixing with ginger ale.

"I would personally use Rose's for a Shirley Temple because I want it to taste like the non-alcoholic version did when I was 10 years old at the pizza parlor with my parents," says Horn. "It's also great if you're doing something simple and you want to pack in a lot of flavor — I made a Cherry Limeade Margarita with Rose's Grenadine, Rose's Lime Juice, and Blanco Tequila, and it was delicious (also great frozen)!"

The cherry-red grenadine syrup in the Rose's and Barsmith bottles has its charm, but if you're looking for something to mix in a dirty Shirley Temple, a grenadine with real fruit juice is worth the squeeze. True grenadine isn't supposed to be cherry-flavored — it's actually made from pomegranate juice, along with orange blossom water or zest. Molly Horn describes the original flavor with a history predating the Prohibition era as "bolder, brighter, more complex, and less sweet than our modern concept of bright-red-cherry-flavored grenadine."

"If I'm making a more classic cocktail, however, such as a Ward 8 or a Jack Rose, I'll reach for a more elevated, traditional style of grenadine," she says. Horn's advice is to invest in grenadine with real pomegranate juice, such as Liber & Co. or Liquid Alchemist. Cocktails have a lot of delicate flavors to balance because each liquor brings something different to the table, so a less artificial-tasting syrup is worth the investment. 

Mick Jagger's favorite cocktail, the tequila sunrise, truly comes to life with real grenadine. Its deep red-purple hue fades into the orange, making a drink as beautiful as it tastes. Rum punch bursts with fruity flavors, and pomegranate adds another special layer with its richness. For non-alcoholic options, combine sparkling grapefruit juice and grenadine for a twist on the blinker or mix it with cola and a cherry for good old Roy Rogers — and don't forget Shirley!