The World’s First Mocktail Is The Shirley Temple

Non-alcoholic cocktails are having their day and the notion of giving up the sauce for a stint is ever popular. It seems the lure of saving money, trimming the waist and skipping hangovers is a potent one! If you are one of those who decided to pass on the booze during dry January, then grab a glass and treat yourself to the world’s first mocktail.

The most famous and very first non-alcoholic cocktail is the Shirley Temple, named after the iconic child star. The exact source of the name is a bit of a mystery, but most stories agree on the reason, which is obvious: the young starlet was out at a restaurant and needed something non-alcoholic to drink. Reportedly, Temple was “whining” over her parents sipping old-fashioneds, which also come with their offshoot’s signature maraschino cherry, and so the waitstaff mixed up a teetotal version for her. (Some recollections have the drink being first mixed at the Hollywood eatery Chasen’s, while others say it was the Brown Derby restaurant, also in Hollywood; the Royal Hawaiian Hotel has also said that their bartenders came up with the cocktail.

Till this day, even the ingredients are in dispute. There’s definitely a dash of grenadine and a maraschino cherry, but the soda can consist of ginger ale, lemon-lime soda or a mix. Some recipes also include orange juice.

One thing is for sure, however: the star herself didn’t want anyone making money off her signature drink by using her name. In 1988, when there were attempts to market a bottled soda bearing the name “Shirley Temple,” she brought civil lawsuits claiming that her name was not a generic term, and that using it as such was an invasion of her privacy. As she told the New York Times at the time: “All a celebrity has is their name.”