Roy Rogers

A cola drink that needs damping down

Cola is already a finished drink: around 10.6 g of sugar per 100 ml, phosphoric acid for bite, vanilla and citrus oils for aroma. Add grenadine and you add a second syrup to the first, which is why a careless Roy Rogers tastes like cough medicine. The lime and ice are structural, not decorative.

Measures in ml and oz

Pour the grenadine by measure: at 30 ml the drink crosses from a cherry accent into syrup.

Technique: cold cola, cold glass, slow grenadine

Chill the cola in the bottle, not over ice in a jug, where it goes flat. Fill a highball to the brim with large cubes; the fuller the glass, the less dilution. Add the lime, pour the cola down the inside wall, then trickle the grenadine down the same wall so it sinks and leaves a red band.

Getting bite without alcohol

Carbonation is the first lever, so never pour a cola that has been open for an hour. Five millilitres of ginger syrup adds a heat at the back of the throat that mimics the alcohol burn. Aroma is the third: express a strip of lime peel over the surface and drop it in.

Mistakes and repairs

• Syrupy. Cut the grenadine to 8 ml and add lime and 30 ml of soda.
• Flat before the table. Warm cola or wet ice; use large cubes.
• Cherry that tastes of liqueur. Some cherries are preserved in spirit syrup.

Variations with a name

• Cuba Libre sin alcohol — the same drink with 15 ml of lime and no grenadine.
• Shirley Temple — ginger ale instead of cola, no cherry: the lighter sibling.
• Cherry vanilla Roy Rogers — a barspoon of vanilla syrup and less grenadine.

Roy Rogers FAQ

What is the difference between a Roy Rogers and a Shirley Temple?

Both are grenadine mocktails. A Roy Rogers uses cola, which makes it dark, vanilla-sweet and bitter; a Shirley Temple uses ginger ale.

Is a Roy Rogers just cola with grenadine?

At its simplest, yes, and that version is usually too sweet. The lime, the full glass of ice and a measured 15 ml of grenadine fix it.

Why is it called a Roy Rogers?

It honours the singing cowboy Roy Rogers, and was given to the drink in the 1930s as the cola counterpart to the Shirley Temple.