Leo Kelly is on a mission to find the perfect Shirley Temple. He even calls himself the "Shirley Temple King." Oh, and did we mention he's only 6 years old?
The Fairfield County, Connecticut resident regularly travels around his hometown to try local restaurants' take on the non-alcoholic drink and posts adorable reviews to his Instagram account, aptly named @theshirleytempleking.
Since starting the account last August, the first grader has shared reviews of over 20 Shirley Temples at chain restaurants and 5-star establishments alike. And he's found a few winners along the way. The 6-year-old typically rates each drink with cherry emojis and recently told CTbites his favorite Shirley Temple in town is at a local restaurant named Pearl (he gave the drink eight (!) cherry emojis).
The adorable drink connoisseur doesn't hold back in his honest reviews and recently said one local diner's Shirley Temple was "too watery." Needless to say, it only got a rating of 3.5.
Kelly also tests Shirley Temples when he's on vacation and has shared reviews from New York and California. Hint: The Ranch at Laguna Beach has a topnotch recipe that scored a rating of 8.5 from the tiny drink critic.
The 6-year-old has an endearing way of listing at least one positive trait of each drink he tries, except for that one time he gave Starbucks' secret menu Shirley Temple a score of zero.
"Yuck! That tastes like strawberry mixed with mango. It's disgusting," Kelly said in his review. "I don't think I like it. I give that a perfectly not-good zero."
Occasionally, Kelly dines at a restaurant that doesn't serve his favorite drink and he can't help but share his disappointment on his Instagram account, which his parents Lisa and Tom help run.
“He has been obsessed with drinking Shirley Temples forever and orders them wherever he goes,” the couple told CTbites.
He's also more than willing to share the secrets behind his own Shirley Temple recipe with Instagram followers — and it's very simple: Pour some Canada Dry ginger ale, Rose's grenadine and three Reese maraschino cherries into an ice-filled glass, and enjoy!
Kelly's reviews have received so much attention that even one of his favorite restaurants took note. On Friday, LongHorn Steakhouse announced that it would be upping its Shirley Temple cherry count from three cherries to a whopping five cherries — all thanks to The Shirley Temple King.
The first grader has quickly won his way into the hearts of Instagram users and has amassed nearly 150,000 followers. It's good to be the king!