Tequila Sunrise

Tequila Sunrise Cocktail

A tall, fruity drink of tequila and orange juice, with grenadine sinking to the bottom to form a red-to-orange gradient.

10.9% ABV
Built in the glass
2 min
Highball glass
fruity
sweet
citrusy
refreshing
IBA official cocktail · Contemporary Classics

about 1 standard drink (US, 14 g of alcohol). Estimated after dilution with ice.

Ingredients

1½ ozBlanco tequila (100% agave)Unaged tequila keeps the flavor clean and lets the orange come through.
3 ozFresh orange juiceFreshly squeezed, poured straight into the glass.
½ ozGrenadinePoured last; it is denser than the juice and sinks.

Ice: Ice cubes · Garnish: orange

Method

Fill a highball glass with ice cubes.
Pour 45 ml blanco tequila and 90 ml fresh orange juice directly into the glass.
Stir gently to combine the tequila and the juice.
Slowly pour in 15 ml grenadine. It sinks to the bottom and creates the sunrise gradient, so do not stir again.
Garnish with half an orange slice.

Want it without alcohol? Try the alcohol-free version: Sunrise Mocktail

Tips

Pour the grenadine slowly, close to the inside edge of the glass or over the back of a barspoon, so it settles at the bottom.
Use freshly squeezed orange juice and a 100% agave tequila: with only three ingredients, each one is easy to taste.
Some bars add a cocktail cherry. The IBA garnish is half an orange slice or orange zest.

History

The version made with orange juice and grenadine is often credited to bartenders at the Trident bar in Sausalito, California, in the early 1970s. An older drink with the same name, based on tequila, crème de cassis, lime and soda, is reported from Arizona in the 1930s. Details of both origins remain debated.