Dirty Shirley Recipe

By Melissa Search Jump to Recipe

Tap into the magic of childhood with this candy-like, yet provocative, Dirty Shirley cocktail.

There is a funny catch-22 about bartending in a big city like Manhattan or Las Vegas. To get a job behind the bar, you have to have experience behind the bar. You basically have to fudge your resume or have a friend in the bar industry to get started. For me, it was a little bit of both. My uncle owned a club on Long Island, so that was the first line on my resume, which got me my first job.

I was 20 when I started making Dirty Shirley cocktails at a bar on the prestigious Upper East Side. I pretended I knew what I was doing and passed pretty well, until I didn’t. When you pour a beer from a tap, you have to tilt the glass so it does not fill with foam, I said we didn’t serve beer at the club. Then I was stumped again when they asked what my specialty cocktail was. On the fly, I told them about the Sweet Melissa, which is a Shirley Temple with vodka, aka a Dirty Shirley. Although it was simple, it worked! I bartended in the city for over a decade and made tons of Dirty Shirleys whenever somebody asked me to make them something sweet.

I’m sure by now you’ve guessed that a Dirty Shirley tastes like a Virgin Shirley Temple. It has the fizziness from the lemon-lime soda and the syrupy sweetness of the grenadine. Shockingly grenadine is not cherry flavored, as most of us have been led to believe. You can refer back to my Virgin Shirley Temple post to read more details, but the sweet, red, syrup actually has hints of pomegranate. Maybe because we garnish the drink with cherries, or because the bright red color reminds us of cherry-flavored kids’ candy. Either way, the Dirty Shirley and its OG counterpart are sweet and fruity. Aside from being so drinkable, this bright cocktail is super easy to make and requires just three ingredients.

Why We Love The Dirty Shirley

There is no doubt that the taste of a Dirty Shirley is nostalgic for most of us. You can barely taste the alcohol in this refreshing drink, making it a top choice for those with a less developed or sophisticated taste for alcohol. Vodka is an ideal base liquor for those who do not enjoy how liquor tastes since it is supposed to be pretty much tasteless, odorless, and colorless. Much like in a Sparkling Blue Hawaii or Moscow Mule, the other flavors in a Dirty Shirley mask the vodka.

What is the Best Alcohol to Use to Make a Dirty Shirley?

For a Dirty Shirley, you will use a mild, middle-of-the-road vodka. I like Tito’s or Ketel One. Other options in the lower-end price range are Svedka and Absolut. Do not waste your money on a high-end brand like Belvedere since you will be masking the taste of the vodka with lemon-lime soda and grenadine.

What glass and garnish to use?

Serve a Dirty Shirley in a highball glass garnished with maraschino cherries.

How Can I make my dirty shirley with fewer calories or not so sweet?

Feel free to use unsweetened club soda instead of lemon-lime soda, or do half of each. You can also use diet lemon-lime soda or diet ginger ale.

Similar Drinks to the Dirty Shirley

If you enjoyed mixing up this quick, sweet and simple drink, here are a few more ideas for what to consider next.

• Virgin Shirley Temple – For the most famous mocktail, make your Dirty Shirley sans alcohol
• Lime Rickey Cocktail – Like a lime-based version of the Dirty Shirley, try this simple drink, but with vodka instead of gin (my favorite way to make it).
• Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Cocktail – If you loved the syrupy sweetness of the Dirty Shirley, then you’re going to love this one too.