In a memorable moment from the 1980 comedy “Airplane!” a doctor aboard the plane asks one of the passengers if he can fly the plane. “Surely you can’t be serious,” the man asks the doctor. Famously, the doctor replies, “I am serious. And don’t call me ‘Shirley.’”

Now, a new beverage brand is encouraging consumers to call it Shirley. Just Call Me Shirley (JCMS) is “a nod to the past, a celebration of the present and a promise of timeless sophistication,” the brand’s website states.

JCMS launched in January, but the idea came about in 2023 after co-founders Sydney Attis and Mikayla Garcia were catching up on one of their “long-distance bestie FaceTime” calls. The pair, who were sorority sisters at Arizona State University, were chatting about ways to branch out from their agency to focus on something they were truly passionate about.

“We shared lots of ‘Dirty Shirleys,’ or as we like to call them, Shirley Temple cocktails, during our time at ASU, both drank virgin versions as kids and noted a gap in the market — so it was an easy decision, we’d set out to create our own canned Shirleys,” the pair says.

Attis and Garcia’s social media and marketing experience, as well as their sorority sisterhood, helped them establish the JCMS brand.

“Creating anything from the ground-up is a challenge but doing it with your best friend makes it easier and well worth it,” they say. “Being sorority sisters bonded us in college, along with our shared career interests, so it’s no surprise that we ended up creating two businesses together. Our social media background only made the creation of JCMS that much easier.”

After the initial FaceTime call, the blueprints for JCMS branding were done within a week. Attis and Garcia note their combined creativity is “absolutely” the backbone to their growing business venture.

The duo describes the current canned cocktail market as competitive.

“It is predominantly male and filled with brands that have bigger budgets, years of experience and well-known names behind them — all of which make being an emerging brand quite difficult,” Attis and Garcia share. “Luckily, we’re not quitters and recognize that we have something really special to introduce to the space.”

JCMS is unique in lots of ways, the co-founders state.

“We’re Gen Z female founders in a male dominant space, we rely heavily on customer feedback — even creating new SKUs to satisfy their preferences — and our bevs are naturally forward,” they say. “We give our customers options on how they Shirley without messing with the classic flavor and style of a Shriley Temple.”

JCMS currently offers three varieties: non-alcoholic, vodka and tequila. The alcohol variations come in at 5% alcohol-by-volume (ABV). The duo shares the significance of the brand’s current lineup.

“Our Premium Vodka Shirley was the first SKU we developed, and it’s typically the fan favorite; however, after opening up the floor to our customers online, we decide to expand the lineup to offer more of a choice,” Attis and Garcia note. “Our Premium Tequila came quickly after feedback that consumers also really enjoyed Shirleys paired with tequila. Non-alc was something we had in the works already, but knew it was the right decision when we received feedback that people wanted to sip virgin Shirleys just as much, and we could satisfy even more of a choice by giving people the option to sip her solo or add their preferred spirit.”

All three options are free of caffeine, gluten and Red 40.

Attis and Garcia note that they’ve started sampling formulas for additional SKUs, but at the moment are focused on expanding the JCMS distribution footprint. They hope to start additional product development by late next year.

JCMS is available in-stores in California, Missouri, Illinois and Iowa. The co-founders are working to expand distribution and “make a big splash” in 2026, they say.

Last month, the brand announced that its spirit-based canned cocktails were available for pre-order and shipping to 45 states. 

One of the most successful marketing initiatives JCMS has recently employed has been its “grow in public” approach.

“We’ve found that sharing our journey openly feels authentic and builds stronger connections with our community,” Attis and Garcia state. “Whether someone’s been with us since the beginning or is just now following along, we’re transparent about both the highs and lows in real time and that honesty has really resonated with people.”

Consumers can find JCMS both variations of Shirleys and merchandise on the JCMS website. Attis and Garcia encourage consumers to join the Shirley-loving community on JCMS socials @drinkshirley on all platforms.