Tequila Sunrise
Tequila and orange juice with grenadine sunk to the bottom. Simple, sweet, and famous for its red-to-gold layers.
- MethodBuilt
- GlassHighball glass
- IceCubes
- Strengthabout 10.9% ABV
- BaseTequila & mezcal
- Tastefruity, sweet, refreshing
Recipe
| 45 ml 1½ oz | Tequila blanco (100% agave) |
| 90 ml 3 oz | Fresh orange juice |
| 15 ml ½ oz | Grenadine (pomegranate syrup) |
Garnish. A half-slice of orange on the rim and a cherry, the classic 1970s finish.
Method
- Fill a highball glass with ice.
- Add the tequila and orange juice and stir.
- Pour the grenadine slowly down the inside of the glass so it sinks to the bottom.
- Garnish and serve without stirring, so the colours grade from red to gold.
About the Tequila Sunrise
The Tequila Sunrise is tequila and fresh orange juice, with grenadine poured in last so it settles at the bottom and bleeds upward like a sunrise. It is sweet and fruity, an easy drink rather than a serious one. Fresh-squeezed juice and a real pomegranate grenadine make a surprising difference.
History
Documented
The version known today was popularised in the early 1970s at the Trident, a bar in Sausalito, California, where the bartenders Bobby Lozoff and Billy Rice are credited with it. The Rolling Stones took it up during their 1972 American tour, which began with a party at the Trident, and the Eagles released a song called Tequila Sunrise in 1973. An older and quite different drink of the same name, with crème de cassis, lime and soda, is credited to the Arizona Biltmore hotel in Phoenix.
Legend and lore
Which of the Rolling Stones first ordered the drink, and whether the Trident bartenders invented it or simply made it popular, differ from account to account; the stories come from later interviews.
Disputed or unclear: The date of the Arizona Biltmore original is given variously as the 1930s or 1940s.
Variations
Bartender's notes
- Pour the grenadine over the back of a barspoon held against the glass; it sinks more cleanly.
- Cold juice keeps the layers sharper; warm juice lets them blur.
