Shirley Temples

I went out with an old friend yesterday and we decided to go out for a couple of drinks. Being comfortable in my own sobriety, these days I tend to order Shirley Temples. A shirley temple has to be one of the manliest drinks to be had. It's the equivalent of showing up to the first day of work with a pink tie: when it's bold, it must be beautiful.

Another advantage of ordering a shirley temple is watching your less manly friends quiver. I'll never forget the time I went to a karaoke bar (also a manly activity) and dropped down my order. Taken aback, the bartender made my order, and offered a glass of grapefruit juice to my friend who had to pronounce his own manliness with a vodka on the rocks.

Finally, ordering a shirley temple is like ordering a Mohito: it's foreign enough that it makes you seem sophisticated, yet still exists inside a frame of reference that won't leave a bartender shaking his head.

Shirley temple: the manly drink.