Tequila sunrise
Tequila and orange juice with grenadine sinking through it. Three ingredients and a sunset in the glass.
- Time
- 4 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Glass
- Highball
- Strength
- 1.9 UK units
How to make a tequila sunrise
- Fill the glass with ice. Fill a tall glass to the top with ice cubes. More ice keeps the layers apart for longer.
- Add tequila and juice. Pour in the tequila, then the orange juice, and stir once with a bar spoon until cold.
- Pour the grenadine slowly. Tilt the glass and pour the grenadine down the inside edge. It should sink to the bottom and rise in a red cloud.
- Garnish and serve. Add an orange slice and a cherry. Serve without stirring, so the colour stays in layers, then stir at the table.
- Glass
- HighballNo highball? Any tall tumbler.
- Ice
- Ice cubes
- Garnish
- An orange slice and a cocktail cherryOr: An orange wedge on the rim.
What you need to make a tequila sunrise
Bottles we'd use
- A blanco tequilaLook for 100% agave on the label: Olmeca Altos Plata or Espolon Blanco.Find it on Amazon
- GrenadineMonin or Giffard grenadine uses real pomegranate and berry and tastes much better than the bright-red kind.Find it on Amazon
Links to Amazon are affiliate links: if you buy through them, Bar Bandol may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
The tequila sunrise story
There are two Tequila Sunrises. The first, from the 1930s at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix, is said to have used tequila, lime, crème de cassis and soda. The one we know came from the 1970s, in a bar in Sausalito, California, and was spread widely by a Rolling Stones tour in 1972. Details differ from one account to the next.
It looks better than it tastes if you rush it. Use fresh orange juice and a good grenadine made from pomegranate rather than a bright-red sugar syrup. Pour the grenadine slowly down the side of the glass so it settles at the bottom and climbs through the orange.
Tequila sunrise: your questions answered
What is in a tequila sunrise?
A tequila sunrise is made with 50 ml tequila blanco, 100 ml fresh orange juice and 15 ml grenadine. Garnish: an orange slice and a cocktail cherry.
How strong is a tequila sunrise?
Made to this recipe, a tequila sunrise contains about 1.9 UK units of alcohol per drink. That is worked out from typical bottle strengths, so it changes with the bottles you use. UK guidelines advise not regularly drinking more than 14 units a week.
What glass do you serve a tequila sunrise in?
Serve a tequila sunrise in a highball over ice. No highball? Any tall tumbler.
