In recent years I’ve become a fan and proponent of a mostly nonalcoholic drink some friends of mine introduced me to some time ago: They called it a Surly Temple. It’s a grownup take on the super-sweet Shirley Temple, which features ginger ale (or another clear, sweet soda), grenadine syrup, and a cherry. Served over ice in a cocktail glass, it was supposed to appeal to little girls out for dinner with their parents. It was always too sweet for me, and I’ve read its namesake didn’t even like it. “Sicky sweet,” or words to that effect, was her opinion.
In contrast, this grownup Temple is Surly: Soda water vs ginger ale, your choice of red juice (cranberry cherry, or pomegranate), and a few splashes of bitters. It’s Surly, get it?
I sometimes order Surly Temples in bars, and I make them at home, too.
I work at Trader Joe’s and we introduced a nice “classic” bitters some time back. It’s quite inexpensive and it gets the job done. But of course it is about 40% alcohol.
Now it turns out a good friend of mine is in recovery from alcohol addiction, and I thought, is it possible to find alcohol-free bitters, so I can make Surly Temples he could drink?
A quick search yielded info on All the Bitter.
I perused and hemmed and hawed a bit, then I decided to spring for a bottle of the New Orleans style. It’s very tasty!
Now, it’s not fair to compair the TJs classic to the All the Bitter New Orleans, since they are different flavor profiles. And the TJs product is much less expensive. But I would opine that your bitters are quite delicious and less harsh than the TJs bottle. Well done! I’m very happy with this concoction!
