Galentine's Cocktail: Cherry Lime Dirty Shirleys

Whenever I am hanging with my girlfriends that have been in my life for actual decades, I get all the nostalgic feels. I think a night sitting around swapping stories and sipping on cocktails with my best friends is just as important as a romantic night with my boyfriend. Which is why I think Galentine's Day should be celebrated just as much as actual Valentines Day. As cliché as it sounds, love is love. No matter what situation you’re in, I love a good excuse to squeeze my loved ones a little tighter for a night.

Anyone knows that my go to party cocktail is some form of margarita. I thought about going the fun dry ice ‘love potion’ route for Galentine's Day or a pomegranate marg but ultimately decided that a Dirty Shirley would fit the bill for my girlfriends’ gathering. Spiked Shirley Temples have an innocence that is so fun when you’re spending the evening with friends that you have known before you could even have a cocktail!

My go to easy party cocktail recipes always need to be pretty simple to put together, you just need a great cocktail shaker and a super cute cocktail glass. I love breaking out my Sagaform gold cocktail glasses for ladies’ night! I try avoiding too much prep, stirring, and technicality when I have a group of people coming over. I love this Dirty Shirley recipe because you can make the base of the cocktail beforehand and just top each glass off with 7UP or lime sparkling water for a health twist. We liked them either way!

A traditional Shirley Temple is extremely simple to put together. Shirley Temple’s are mostly just ginger ale or lemon lime soda with a big splash of grenadine and a cherry on top. They’re honestly so refreshing and I still order one at a restaurant every now and then.

To give these an adult spin, we added a decent amount of vodka and Chambord (raspberry liquor). These additions gave these Galentine's cocktails extra flare and flavor. All my girlfriends are huge La Croix fans so I topped each one off with lemon lime soda water but feel free to use regular lemon lime soda (like 7UP or Sprite) for more of a traditional recipe!