Tequila Sunrise: Ultimate Colorful Cocktail
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This Tequila Sunrise recipe is so easy to craft that you’ll be sipping your tasty tequila tipple in just a few minutes. In other words, it’s not just another Tequila Sunrise recipe. It’s a keeper.
You’re probably already familiar with tequila sunrises.
Perhaps you drank Tequila Sunrise cocktails when you were in your early 20s or during a Caribbean vacation. With its fruity flavor and relatively low alcohol content, the colorful cocktail is easy to find at both frat parties and beach bars.
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Or maybe you’re more familiar with the Tequila Sunrise’s place in pop culture. It was Mick Jagger’s nickname for a 1972 Rolling Stones tour, the name of a 1973 Eagles song and a 1988 movie starring Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell. References aside, once you start humming the Eagles song, it’s hard to get it out of your head.
Either way, your first time crafting a Tequila Sunrise cocktail at home likely won’t be your last. It’s one of those cocktails that’s as easy to craft as it is to sip.
What Is a Tequila Sunrise Cocktail?
Not counting ice cubes and garnishes, a Tequila Sunrise is a three-ingredient cocktail with a clever name. It also has a unique appearance that justifies a moniker that makes people smile.
After all, who doesn’t like sunrises?
History of the Tequila Sunrise
The Tequila Sunrise is a cocktail with two different histories.
History number one occurred almost a century ago when bartenders combined tequila with crème de cassis, lime juice and club soda at a Phoenix hotel. While those cocktails surely tasted good, that Tequila Sunrise didn’t stand the test of time.
Things got real in the swinging 70s. That’s when the Tequila Sunrise we all know and love was first crafted with tequila, grenadine and orange juice in Sausalito, California.
Ingredients
You only need the following ingredients to craft a Tequila Sunrise at home:
Ingredient quantities are detailed in the printable recipe card below.
You don’t have to buy a special bottle to craft Tequila Sunrise cocktails at home. Any tequila will work so long as it’s blanco, i.e., white.
We crafted our Tequila Sunrise cocktails with José Cuervo Especial tequila made with blue agave since that’s what was in our liquor cabinet. Distilled in Mexico, it has a 38% ABV. While it may not be the finest tequila for sipping, it’s an ideal tequila for crafting cocktails like this one.
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We also used grenadine syrup produced by Monin. This French company doesn’t add any artificial colors or flavors to its bright red pomegranate syrup, which makes it better than other commercial grenadine syrups.
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How to Craft a Tequila Sunrise Cocktail
The Tequila Sunrise is a lazy mixologist’s dream. Not only does this cocktail look and taste great, but it’s also super easy to craft with the most basic of equipment.
After you gather the ingredients and bar tools, the first step is to fill a highball glass with ice cubes.
Measure the tequila and orange juice and immediately pour each into the highball glass. We use a Japanese jigger for this step to ensure accurate pours and minimize spillage.
Buy a Japanese jigger from Amazon if you need a jigger or want an inexpensive upgrade.
Stir gently with a bar spoon or other long utensil.
Measure the grenadine. Slowly pour the ruby-red pomegranate syrup into the highball glass.
Do not stir after adding the grenadine. If you do, you’ll lose the sunrise effect.
Garnish with an orange wedge and a maraschino cherry or two.
Sip and enjoy.
Variations
The following Tequila Sunrise alternatives should keep your tastebuds from getting bored:
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Tequila Sunrise Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ounces blanco tequila
- 4 ounces orange juice
- ½ ounce grenadine
- 1 wedge orange (garnish)
- 1 maraschino cherry (garnish)
- ice cubes
Instructions
- Fill highball glass with ice cubes.
- Pour tequila and orange juice into the glass. Gently stir.
- Slowly pour grenadine into the glass.
- Garnish with orange wedge and a maraschino cherry or two.
Nutrition
💡 Frequently Asked Questions
The Tequila Sunrise is a colorful tequila cocktail crafted with tequila, grenadine and orange juice.
The modern-day Tequila Sunrise was invented in Sausalito, California.
Blanco Tequila, Orange Juice, Grenadine, Orange Wedge (garnish), Maraschino Cherry (garnish) and Ice Cubes
The Tequila Sunrise is stirred, not shaken, before the grenadine is added.
No. The Tequila Sunrise is relatively mild since tequila is the cocktail’s only liquor ingredient.
While both cocktails contain tequila and orange juice, the Tequila Sunrise recipe includes grenadine, while the Tequila Sunset includes blackberry brandy.
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