The Tequila Sunrise recipe
for your table
Fill a tall glass with ice cubes.
Pour the tequila and orange juice into the glass and stir.
Slowly pour the grenadine down the inside of the glass. It will sink to the bottom on its own.
Don’t stir again! Garnish with orange and a cherry.
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The story
The original Sunrise from the 1930s (Arizona) still contained crème de cassis and soda, but the version that conquered the world originated in the early 1970s at The Trident in Sausalito, where bartenders Bobby Lozoff and Billy Rice mixed it with orange juice and grenadine. When Mick Jagger discovered it there at a Rolling Stones party in 1972, the band ordered it throughout the entire tour. The Eagles hit and a film with Mel Gibson did the rest: the Sunrise became world-famous.
The right glass
The sunrise effect is everything with this cocktail, so choose a tall, crystal-clear highball glass of 44 to 55 cl. The more height, the more beautiful the color transition from red to orange. Avoid glasses with a lot of texture. A smooth wall shows the gradient most clearly. If you want to serve it more tropically, a hurricane glass works too. For a more tropical presentation of the same color transition, take a look at our hurricane glasses.
Bormioli Rocco Diamond Highball Glass 47 cl (6 pieces)
Arcoroc Islande Highball Glass 33 cl (6 pieces)
Both sets together € 35,90.
The right tools
For a Tequila Sunrise, besides the glass, you need a long bar spoon, a jigger for precise measuring, a citrus juicer, long ice sticks and cocktail picks. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glassware set (our choice 01) + 5 bar tools together € 104,70.
Variations & twists
The original Sunrise from 1930 used crème de cassis and soda, worth trying for purists. Using orange soda instead of fresh juice makes it retro-sweet, like in the disco era. Freshly squeezed juice and 100% agave tequila bring it into the present. Looking for more inspiration? Browse more than 100 cocktail recipes.
Serving tip
The secret to a beautiful sunrise: pour the grenadine over the back of a spoon, then leave the glass undisturbed for two minutes. Serve with a stirrer for anyone who wants to make the sun set.
Good to know
The ratio and alcohol content
This cocktail is built around 4.5 cl tequila, 9 cl fresh orange juice, and 1.5 cl grenadine - exactly a one-to-two ratio of liquor to juice. With ice, that gives you about 15 cl in the glass, containing 1.7 cl of pure alcohol if your tequila is 38 percent ABV. That works out to 10 to 12 percent, roughly a glass of wine, although the juice makes it taste much smoother. For a lighter afternoon drink, keep the tequila at 3 cl and increase the orange juice to 12 cl.
Which tequila should you choose: blanco or reposado
At the very least, choose a bottle labeled 100 percent agave; a mixto contains up to 49 percent other sugars and gives that sharp, sugary aftertaste responsible for tequila's bad reputation. Blanco is unaged, fresh, and peppery, allowing the orange juice to stand out most. Reposado rests in oak for two months to a year and adds vanilla and a light woody note, making the cocktail fuller. An añejo would be a waste of money here. Expect to pay twenty-five to thirty-five euros for a good blanco.
Fresh orange juice or orange soda
The classic recipe calls for freshly squeezed juice, and that is no minor detail: three medium oranges yield about 18 cl, enough for two glasses. Fresh juice is more acidic and less blandly sweet, so the grenadine does not overpower it. Carton juice works too, provided you choose one with no added sugar. Orange soda or other orange soft drinks turn it into the sweet disco version from the 1970s; fun for nostalgia, but the bubbles also disrupt the color gradient that gives this cocktail its name.
For a group: in a pitcher
For six guests, mix 27 cl tequila with 54 cl fresh orange juice in a pitcher and chill it for at least an hour. Do not add the grenadine, as you would lose the exact effect the drink is known for. Fill the glasses with ice, pour 13 cl of the mix into each glass, then pour 1.5 cl of grenadine down the inside of each glass. Allow for more than half a bottle of tequila and nine oranges if you are juicing them fresh. Do not stir; let your guests do that.
Which grenadine for a Tequila Sunrise
Grenadine is originally a pomegranate syrup, but many supermarket bottles consist mainly of sugar, water and coloring. For a Tequila Sunrise cocktail, pay attention to two things: flavor and density. A syrup made with real pomegranate juice gives a fuller, slightly tart note beneath the orange juice, and the higher the syrup's sugar content, the better it sinks to the bottom. Only pour it in once the glass is otherwise full, because in a half-full glass it does not have enough liquid to sink through and the color gradient remains short-lived. You can also make it yourself: dissolve sugar into pomegranate juice until it becomes a syrup.
How do you make a layered tequila sunrise
What's in a Tequila Sunrise? Tequila, fresh orange juice and grenadine, nothing more; the effect comes from the order and specific gravity. With a Tequila Sunrise, one thing therefore often goes wrong: the grenadine is added to the glass first and the juice is poured on top, causing everything to mix immediately. Use whole ice cubes instead of crushed ice, because crushed ice melts faster and clouds the gradient. A cold glass and cold juice also help, because ice melts faster in a lukewarm glass and the layers mix together.
Frequently asked questions
What goes into a Tequila Sunrise?
A Tequila Sunrise contains 4.5 cl tequila, 9 cl fresh orange juice and 1.5 cl grenadine, plus plenty of ice, an orange slice and a cocktail cherry. That's all: the effect comes from the order, as you slowly pour the grenadine down the side of the glass last.
How do you drink a Tequila Sunrise?
Let it stand for a moment without stirring, so you can see the color gradient from deep red to orange-yellow. Then stir it with a stirring stick and let the sun set, as it were, as the grenadine mixes with the juice. Serve ice-cold with a straw.
What soda is used in a Tequila Sunrise?
There is no soda in the classic recipe: the base is fresh orange juice. The sweet retro version from the disco years uses orange soda instead of fresh juice, making it sweeter and much less refreshing. Grenadine, by the way, is a pomegranate syrup, not a soft drink.
What percentage of alcohol does a Tequila Sunrise contain?
With 4.5 cl of 38 percent tequila in approximately 15 cl of liquid, you end up at roughly 10 to 12 percent, depending on how much ice melts. The orange juice makes it taste smoother than that. Serve it in a tall glass; see our highball glasses.
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