Guest Post: Shirley Temple and Rob Roy

Today we have Emily from Dinner is Served 1972. She brings not only two recipes for us but a story that brings me back to my own childhood and ordering a special drink. Take a look at Dinner is Served 1972 and Emily’s great post below…

When I was a small child, there was no greater thrill than going to a restaurant with a cocktail lounge (or “lawnge” as I would say—look, that it is how it’s spelled!) and ordering a Shirley Temple. That was just the classiest, fanciest, most cosmopolitan thing that a girl could do. Especially if it was served in a pretty glass and garnished with fruit. An orange slice and maraschino cherry on a little red, plastic sword drove me absolutely wild.

According to the book Chasen’s, Where Hollywood Dined: Recipes & Memories, the drink was indeed created for Miss Temple herself when she was upset that her parents got to drink Old Fashioneds. This is what the folks at Chasen’s whipped up:

Shirley Temple Cocktail

7-Up or ginger ale

grenadine

orange slice

maraschino cherry

toothpick

Fill tall glass with five parts 7-Up or ginger ale to one part grenadine. Garnish with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry on a toothpick.

Sadly, I don’t stock red, plastic cocktail swords in my pantry. And I am glad that I used diet ginger ale to test this out, because, had I not, I would have gone into diabetic shock–but boy, oh boy did this take me back!

More often than not, my Shirley Temple consumption took place when I was out with my Gramsy. One of her favorite restaurants was a place in Downtown Pittsburgh called the Cork & Bottle. From what I can remember it was in the lower level of the building, had soft lighting, wood-paneled walls and red, tufted, vinyl booths. This could be entirely inaccurate and I am describing to you a pastiche of the places I visited as a kid, but in my head that’s what it looked like. And it was the bee’s knees.

So this particular day, after a day of shopping at Gimbels or Horne’s or Kaufmann’s (all now defunct. Sad face.), I sat down for lunch at the Cork & Bottle with Gramsy, my mum, and my brother.  The waiter came to take our drink order. I, of course, ordered a Shirley Temple. My brother was undecided. So Gramsy had another suggestion.

“Get a Rob Roy. You like those. C’mon order a Rob Roy!” The waiter looked at her curiously because a Rob Roy is made with Scotch. She meant a Roy Rogers-which is the boy-version Shirley Temple: Coca-Cola subbed for the ginger ale.

Oops. Easy mistake to make!

This isn’t the Cork & Bottle’s recipe, but there was once a Stouffer’s Restaurant on Smithfield Street, just a stone’s throw from the Cork & Bottle. This is the recipe from the cocktail guide Here’s How by Stouffer’s (copyright 1958).

Rob Roy Cocktail

Here is the overseas cousin of our well-beloved Manhattan made according to Stouffer’s own recipe. Take ⅝ oz. Sweet Vermouth, 1 ¼ ozs. of your favorite Scotch Whisky, and add ½ dash Angostura Bitters.

Stir with cracked ice and strain into a California Cocktail Glass (no. 1). Decorate with a Cherry.

Question: how do you do ½ a dash? Think about it.

It doesn’t matter, though. I couldn’t get my bottle of Angostura Bitters open so this drink was just Sweet Vermouth and Scotch. But I did use the correct style of cocktail glass. So win!

The Rob Roy really didn’t do it for me, but I am more of a Manhattan gal. I’m just gonna say that it’s a good thing that my brother didn’t order one almost 30 years ago.