#weirdsodaforlife

Hi there and welcome back to #weirdsodaforlife! Today, we’re out here trying to recapture my childhood by drinking the canned version of one of my favorite non-alcoholic drinks! Yes, thanks to the courtesy of my boss Kevin, I now have a can of 7UP’s limited edition Shirley Temple soda.

Admittedly, I wasn’t sure what to focus on for this review (other than the potentially delicious soda in front of me) because there’s a lot to unpack. On one hand, the history of Shirley Temples is an easy topic to grab, but let’s be honest: 7Up rarely strays far from its original formula (besides Cherry 7Up, which, let’s face it, is basically a Shirley Temple in a can). So if I don’t talk about 7Up’s origins now, when will I? Lucky for you, this is a two-for-one special. Let’s dig in.

First, let’s talk about 7Up’s creation, which feels like a case of “right drink, right time.” Charles Leiper Grigg, founder of The Howdy Corporation (a name that feels like a placeholder until you decide what you actually want to call it), debuted the soda in 1929. And get this: its original name was Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda. Rolls right off the tongue! The “lithiated” part wasn’t just for show; the drink actually contained lithium citrate, a mood-stabilizing drug. Yep, 7Up was one of those turn-of-the-century cure-alls that promised to fix whatever ailed you. It hit shelves just two weeks before the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Coincidence? Maybe. A sign people would soon need a pick-me-up? Definitely. By 1936, they dropped the lithium and shortened the name to just 7Up, but the soda’s legacy as a once-medicinal drink stuck around.

As for Shirley Temples, would it shock you to know that it was named after Great Depression sweetheart Shirley Temple? Picture it: Shirley Temple, Hollywood’s golden child, is out dining with her parents at some fancy Hollywood restaurant. Little Shirley, being the glamorous star she was in the 1930s, wanted a drink that looked as fancy as the martinis the adults were sipping. (Because nothing says pick-me-up during the Great Depression like a child-sized faux-cocktail, right?) The solution? Ginger ale, grenadine, and a cherry on top: a drink that practically screams “I’m a star!” without the, you know, gin. Surprisingly, no one actually knows which “fancy Hollywood restaurant” invented this sugary icon. Chasen’s? The Brown Derby? Both have claims to the title, but if the Brown Derby sounds familiar, it’s because we already crossed paths with it in our Cock’n Bull Bitter Orange Soda review! (Everything old is new again.)
As time went on, the Shirley Temple drink got a little...extra. Lemon-lime soda started replacing ginger ale, turning it into pure “liquid candy,” and grenadine became a flashpoint between pomegranate syrup purists and fans of that red-dye nostalgia. (Today’s 7Up version firmly plants itself on the pomegranate side, but that feels more like an “alliance of necessity” since cherry 7Up already exists. There can only be one cherry king, apparently.)

Now, here’s where it gets spicy: Shirley Temple herself hated the drink. She thought it was overly sweet and even tried to sue over bottled versions using her name! Imagine that your name becomes synonymous with a drink so saccharine it offends your taste buds. And then imagine it becoming one of the two things people remember you for, because unless you’re a history buff or “of a certain age,” you’re probably not associating Shirley Temple with her later political career as a U.S. ambassador. Tough gig, Shirley.

Will the combined power of these two Great Depression icons be enough to convince me that I don’t need my own grenadine stash at home? Let’s find out! Cracking open the can, the first thing that hits you from the scent is the tartness of pomegranate, not that I’d have known that without the occasional run-in with actual pomegranate juice. But once I poured it into the glass, the syrupy sweetness of artificial cherry crashes the party. The flavor? More of the same: a sharp tartness up front that’s promptly steamrolled by a sugary cherry tidal wave. Both Shirley Temple and Mr. Weird (our infamous cherry hater) would turn their noses up at this one. Here’s the thing: it needs something to cut through the sweetness. My brain keeps circling back to a splash of vanilla vodka or vanilla ice cream to balance that acidic tang with some creamy smoothness. That said, don’t get me wrong; I didn’t hate it. Far from it! I liked it quite a bit, actually. But it’s the kind of soda you sip once, enjoy thoroughly, and then immediately decide you don’t need a second round. (So yeah, big thanks to Kevin for only giving me one can.) If you’re into sweet cherry vibes like maybe a cherry cordial, you’ll probably love this. But for the rest of us? Maybe pick up a six-pack and pace yourself.

Next week, we’re trying a soda that several of you requested: Faygo’s Jolly Green Apple soda! Until next time, Drink Weird!