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.
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.
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.
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. )
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
: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.
. (Normal side of the country? 
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