Cocktail recipe
Tequila Sunrise
A glowing sweep of citrus gold into pomegranate red—sunrise in a glass, with tequila underneath.
Ingredients
- 45 ml (1½ oz) blanco tequila
- 90 ml (3 oz) fresh orange juice
- 15 ml (½ oz) grenadine
- ice.
- Garnish: Orange half-wheel and optional cocktail cherry.
Preparation
Fill a tall glass with fresh ice. Add tequila and orange juice, then stir briefly to chill. Slowly trickle grenadine down the inner wall or over the back of a spoon so it sinks and blooms red at the base. Leave the colours layered—do not stir again. Place the orange garnish high on the rim, where it won't disturb the gradient.
Glassware
Highball glass
History
The modern orange-juice-and-grenadine Tequila Sunrise is widely linked to Bobby Lozoff and Billy Rice at the Trident in Sausalito, California, in the early 1970s. An earlier, materially different Tequila Sunrise was served in Arizona in the 1930s, often associated with Gene Sulit and the Arizona Biltmore; that version should not be retroactively described as the same recipe. Touring musicians and the Eagles' 1973 song helped make the modern name internationally familiar, but exact claims about who first ordered or popularized it should be qualified.
Mixology View
Its beauty is real, but balance matters more than the photograph. Use fresh orange juice and a measured grenadine pour; sweetness should pool at the bottom rather than dominate every sip.