Gatorade Just Brought Back This Rare Flavor

Ah, the Shirley Temple. Named for an iconic, dimpled, curly-haired actress and basically the cocktail of childhood.

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No doubt tons of us remember Shirley Temples with like, slightly teary fondness―because they were the fanciest, most complicated, and only garnished “special” drink available to us back in the day. Even after we’ve all grown up, there’s still a nostalgia for that sweet mocktail. Maybe that’s why legions of Shirley Temple fans are double-psyched―because Gatorade just dropped not one, but two Shirley Temple-inspired drinks.

A Re-Release And A Double-Drop

The Shirley Temple x Gatorade collab is a re-release. The original Shirley Temple Gatorade was created last year, in this case for WNBA guard Paige Bueckers, who famously tweeted “I know a Shirley Temple hates to see me coming.” That tweet got Gatorade’s attention and they surprised Bueckers with her very own Shirley Temple Gatorade. 

This time around, Bueckers is in on the collaboration, which includes not just the original Shirley Temple Gatorade Thirst Quencher (which comes with the bottle & towel set for $20), but a first-ever “Shirley Temple” capsule, with “a limited-edition Shirley Temple Gatorade Thirst Quencher bottle, a co-branded Nike t-shirt showcasing a receipt-inspired “Buckets On Tap” graphic and Paige’s signature, and a towel, all for $65.” These are both available exclusively at Gatorade.com.

What To Expect

If, unlike self-proclaimed “old soul” Bueckers, you do not have distinct memory of every childhood sip of that maraschino-cherried classic, here’s a brief primer. Yes, there are some variations on the Shirley Temple, and probably more than a few heated debates. But the classic recipe is a simple combination of ginger ale and grenadine (a sweetly tart pomegranate-based syrup), topped with maraschino cherries. (I say cherries plural because unless you’re dead inside you should always order at least two cherries.) 

So does that classic, cherub-cheeked flavor transfer successfully to the thirst-quenching elite athlete Gatorade format? All reviews point to “Yes, indeedy.” (That’s a Shirley Temple reference, folks.) Although it lacks the effervescence of the nostalgic mocktail, Gatorade’s version is said to kind of bloom with fresh cherry flavor when you open it (reminding you of those maraschino cherry garnishes on top). The fruit flavor isn’t cloying or heavy―this is Gatorade, the water of our sports gods, after all―and that ginger flavor kicks in with delicate spice, adding to the classic Gatorade “quench” vibe. Released on August 6th, we expect these to sell out fast.