# Is a Shirley Temple a gateway drug? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 21, 2005, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-shirley-temple-a-gateway-drug/332101 "2005-11-21T17:41:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-shirley-temple-a-gateway-drug/332101/41 "2005-11-22T03:43:48Z")
We had Shirley Temples as a treat, usually if we were out for Chinese food, when we were kids. A few years ago, when I got tired of water, water, and 7-up to drink when I was pregnant, I ordered the occasional shirley temple. Or a virgin margarita. It was fun, although my brother arrived late one day and took a “sip” of my drink. I know he was testing me… I didn’t care. Gateway drug? I dont think so. But I never saw the big deal about drinking, even when I had my teenage excesses, it was more about socializing and than the booze. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-shirley-temple-a-gateway-drug/332101/42 "2005-11-22T06:42:30Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > and the bad ones have transvestite midgets dancing on the bar. In NY those are the good dives 🙂 . (Normal side of the country? 😕 ) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-shirley-temple-a-gateway-drug/332101/43 "2005-11-22T06:45:50Z")
I know that if I ordered a Ginger Ale, and then tasted Sprite, I’d be fucking pissed off. If they don’t have it (even in the fridge), tell me, but don’t give me Sprite with a shot of “cola” for color. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-shirley-temple-a-gateway-drug/332101/44 "2005-11-22T08:34:35Z")
> [@betenoir](#): > > In NY those are the good dives 🙂 . (Normal side of the country? 😕 ) Clearly, you have yet to see [Kiss Kiss Bang Bang](http://imdb.com/title/tt0373469/). I highly recommend it; so much so that I saw it again this evening. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-shirley-temple-a-gateway-drug/332101/45 "2005-11-22T08:56:25Z")
I have never had a Shirley Temple, but it sounds pretty good. I think I will ask for one next time I’m at the bar. I’ll return and post if it is the beginning of my downward spiral. Or, maybe I will spiral upward\*? I’ve been drinking the hard stuff for many years, now. Maybe a few Shirley Temples will get me back on track. 😛 - - somehow, this sounds trippier. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-shirley-temple-a-gateway-drug/332101/46 "2005-11-22T10:38:37Z")
**Shirley Temple** 4 oz. Lemon-lime Soda 2 oz. Ginger Ale 1 tsp. Grenadine Serve over ice Garnish with cherry and orange slice _Source:_ Refrigerator magnet in my kitchen. ---
**Author:** ![nonacetone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonacetone/32/2819_2.png) [@nonacetone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonacetone)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-shirley-temple-a-gateway-drug/332101/47 "2005-11-22T11:26:47Z")
Our daughter always drank Shirley Temples. She’s now 18 and has graduated to drinking Michelob Lager (from the bottle, even)…only at home, I might add!. She detests all other alcohol, such as vodka, whiskey, rum, schnapps, brandy, wine, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-shirley-temple-a-gateway-drug/332101/48 "2005-11-22T15:29:24Z")
> [@Sal Ammoniac](#): > > People want to deny that a Shirley Temple is a gateway to a life of vice, but I have to say, the amount of double-posting in this thread just confirms my worst fears. You take that abck! Shirley Tepmle was a fine pustanding womna, not a gateawy to a ilfe of vice. _hickup_ **Sal** , I love you, man. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-shirley-temple-a-gateway-drug/332101/49 "2005-11-22T15:34:29Z")
> [@Sal Ammoniac](#): > > People want to deny that a Shirley Temple is a gateway to a life of vice, but I have to say, the amount of double-posting in this thread just confirms my worst fears. There’s no double posts here: You’re obviously so drunk you’re seeing double. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-shirley-temple-a-gateway-drug/332101/50 "2005-11-22T16:31:09Z")
> [@Maus Magill](#): > > Shirley Tepmle was a fine pustanding womna… Then frankly, I have no interest in knowing her. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-shirley-temple-a-gateway-drug/332101/51 "2005-11-22T16:32:18Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > There’s no double posts here: You’re obviously so drunk you’re seeing double. > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > There’s no double posts here: You’re obviously so drunk you’re seeing double. Am not. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-shirley-temple-a-gateway-drug/332101/52 "2005-11-22T17:50:04Z")
I’m surprised by the thought. Biggest shirley temple freak I know… is my mother. Quite possibly has never drunk anything alcoholic in her life aside from communion wine. (Almost certainly not in the period since I’ve been 3 years old… unless she’s REALLY hiding it well. 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-shirley-temple-a-gateway-drug/332101/53 "2005-11-22T18:16:59Z")
Since a Shirley Temple is so obviously a children’s drink, I just can’t see it as necessarily leading to adult cocktail drinking. A Virgin Mary might be a little ‘edgier’, if you could even get a child to drink one, but it’s still hard to call it a gateway drug when there’s no drug of any kind in it. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-shirley-temple-a-gateway-drug/332101/54 "2005-11-22T18:47:56Z")
You people are silly. I am a 30 year old male who proudly drinks Shirley Temples (and an occasional Roy Rogers) whenever I have the chance. In fact, since I rarely drink alcohol at all, when I go out with other friends to bars and announce I’m the designated driver, I often get my ST for free. Sure, I get teased about it by my friends, but since I’m always the sober one, I have plenty of ammunition to throw back at them when they’re hungover. 😃 Oh, and just to contribute to the ginger ale/Sprite debate, almost every ST I’ve ever had (and I’ve had MANY) was done with Sprite/7UP. You can definitely tell the difference when it’s made with ginger ale, and I’m so accustomed to the soda version that I actually don’t like it when it’s made with ginger ale. And re the OP, it was no gateway drug for me. I’ve already reached the promised land. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-shirley-temple-a-gateway-drug/332101/55 "2005-11-22T20:57:16Z")
I’m a mom of a six and seven year old. I order my son Shirley Temples when we go out on occation (they like them at home, too). To him, its about the pop, the cherry, and the fancy glass - though often out they skip the glass and drop a cherry in theh 7up in the kids cup - and its always 7up). My daughter loves orange juice, so we do Virgin Sunrises for her (orange juice and grendine). I do drink. I’d rather they have their own fancy looking cup with a cherry in it than request a sip of my margarita. They also get the fruit garnishes off our drinks - except the ones that have been sitting in the rum. Those they don’t like. I’ll let you know if they turn into lushes. Obviously, I don’t think there is a correlation or I wouldn’t do it. Most alcohol tastes pretty vile to kids. I’m more concerned about the “pop like malt beverages” (Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Sminoff Twisters) than I am about 7 up with a cherry in it. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-shirley-temple-a-gateway-drug/332101/56 "2005-11-23T01:17:38Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > Clearly, you have yet to see [Kiss Kiss Bang Bang](http://imdb.com/title/tt0373469/). I highly recommend it; so much so that I saw it again this evening. > > Stranger “All the normal girls hung on.” I worked in a couple bars when I was younger, and there was always ginger on the gun. Also, I recall that a Shirley temple did have a very small measure of alcohol in it, but not enought to give it a higher alcohol content than the OJ that’s been sitting under the bar for three hours. ---
**Author:** ![Jaade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dfb087/32.png) [@Jaade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaade)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-shirley-temple-a-gateway-drug/332101/57 "2005-11-23T01:34:09Z")
I worked in a small bar in WA state about 6 years ago - there was no ginger ale at all in the bar that I was aware of. Of course, I don’t remember anyone ordering any Shirley Temples either. I know it certainly wasn’t on the gun. I had Shirley Temples sometimes when my mom and her friends would bring their kids along for dinner. I’m certainly not a lush now. I enjoy going out and having a few drinks on occasion but I’ve always been on the cautious side of alcoholic binging which I attribute to a long, “proud” history of alcoholism running in my family. ---
**Author:** ![VegaBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ee7513/32.png) [@VegaBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VegaBean)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-shirley-temple-a-gateway-drug/332101/58 "2005-11-23T20:13:57Z")
Anybody who orders a pseudo drink for the kids also sneaks them some watered wine or pushes pink champaigne on them at new years. When I think back, all those who pushed drinks at me were the family lushes. But since my folks were nearly dry (on bottle of Manishevitz fruit wine lasted a year in the back of the fridge), I thought the drinks were odd and old fashioned, like the bunny hop at those same parties, and naver made it my thing, it was always the lush’s thing. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-shirley-temple-a-gateway-drug/332101/59 "2005-11-24T00:44:21Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > Just so you know, when you order ginger ale or something with ginger ale in a bar, you’re getting a glass of 7-Up or Sprite with a splash of cola (for color…doesn’t do anything to the taste). I’ll chime in with the “wrong-o” crowd. I’m no expert, but at our Elks club bar the “Ginger Ale” button on the speed gun is connected to a 5-gallon keg labeled “Ginger Ale” in the cooler. I tasted it. Yep. It’s Ginger Ale. > [@VegaBean](#): > > Anybody who orders a pseudo drink for the kids also sneaks them some watered wine or pushes pink champaigne on them at new years. :rolleyes: I’m sorry these are the only kind of people you know. You need to get out and meet the rest of the world. We don’t do that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-shirley-temple-a-gateway-drug/332101.md?page=2)