Swap Grenadine For Strawberry Syrup For An Elevated Shirley Temple

Fresh and fizzy, what's not to love about a Shirley Temple? A drink full of nostalgia, the zero-alcohol mixed drink is a classic. However, it tends to get a bad rap — blame this on cloyingly sweet renditions made with cheap grenadine and artificial-tasting maraschino cherries. The good news is that whipping up a delightful Shirley Temple is possible with the right ingredients. But, if fancy sodas and syrups aren't enough to persuade you otherwise, then consider playing with flavor. To give the mocktail a fruit-forward update, a drizzle of strawberry syrup might be able to change your stance on STs for good. 

Traditionally, the Shirley Temple is made with grenadine. A rich crimson syrup, grenadine is crafted with pomegranate juice, which imparts a wonderfully sweet-meets-tart flavor. It's precisely this varied and very much balanced profile that has made the syrup a favorite in all sorts of mocktails and cocktails. Yet, while grenadine does give drinks like the Shirley Temple (but also the Tequila Sunrise or the Zombie) a unique twist, the reality is that it can easily be traded for other flavored mixers, including juicy strawberry syrup. 

Boasting the same iconic hue, a rosy strawberry syrup has the same sugary tang reminiscent of grenadine, just with a distinct berry finish. It's for this reason that it works so well as a grenadine swap in a sweetly punchy Shirley Temple. Bursting with bold fruit flavor, strawberry syrup is capable of revamping even the most tired of Shirley Temple recipes.

Although you could find strawberry syrup at your local grocery store, nothing beats one made from scratch, as you can adjust it as you like. Work with a medley of different berries, adjust the sweetness, or introduce flavorful ingredients like chamomile flowers for additional complexity — the choice is yours. 

As for how to actually make the syrup, there are several ways to go about the process. One option is to macerate ripe berries in sugar and then strain the sweetened liquid. Alternatively, you could infuse a simple syrup with a batch of sliced strawberries. If you're looking to add some texture, you can also cook the berries in sugar until they've reduced into a thick sauce. Whatever you decide, the resulting syrup is sure to give your ST a sweetly summery edge. 

To concoct the berry-driven mocktail, fill a tall glass with ice before pouring in a splash of strawberry syrup. Be sure to follow a 1:1 ratio to substitute for grenadine. Then, top the drink with something fizzy like ginger ale or lemon-lime soda. Otherwise, to showcase the nuanced flavors of your homemade syrup, use a combination of soda water and freshly squeezed citrus. Garnish with a few skewered strawberries to finish, and voilà, you've successfully crafted a delightfully vibrant, totally refreshing, strawberry-infused Shirley Temple!