A tequila sunrise is deceptively easy to make. You don’t need any special skills or equipment (not even a cocktail shaker) to achieve this picture-perfect layered tequila drink! It takes just 3 ingredients and very little time to whip up — simply fill a tall glass with ice, add tequila and orange juice, slowly pour in grenadine, and voila!
This tequila cocktail was created at the Trident bar in California by Bobby Lozoff and Billy Rice in the early 1970s. It started to get its rock-n-roll reputation after Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones tasted it at a party and loved it. The rest is history! For more tequila cocktails, try my margarita recipe, ranch water, or paloma.
What You Need to Make this Recipe
Tequila — while you don’t need to break the bank with a top-shelf bottle, I recommend opting for a tequila that you enjoy the flavor of on its own. Silver tequila (also called tequila blanco) is the best choice for this classic cocktail. It’s an unaged tequila that works well with orange juice.
Orange juice — freshly squeezed orange juice has the best flavor for this drink.
Grenadine syrup — this sweet pomegranate-flavored syrup forms the deep red sunrise color at the bottom of the tequila cocktail.
Garnish — orange slices and maraschino cherries are the classic garnish.
How to Make a Tequila Sunrise
1. Fill a tall glass with ice cubes.
2. Add fresh orange juice and silver tequila to the glass.
3. Stir well to combine them.
4. Slowly pour the grenadine down the side of the glass. It is more dense than the other ingredients, so it will sink to the bottom of the glass. Do not stir before serving! Garnish with an orange slice and maraschino cherry.
Pro Tips for Making this Recipe
- Make it more tart. You can add 1/2 ounce of lime juice with the orange juice and tequila for a more tart cocktail.
- Use a highball glass. A tall glass really shows off the layers and colors.
- Play around with a different juice. You can swap the orange juice out for pineapple juice or grapefruit juice for a fun twist. No, it won’t be a classic tequila sunrise recipe, but it will still be delicious with bright citrus flavors!
- Add seltzer water. You can top the drink off with soda water for a slightly bubbly cocktail that mellows the sweetness of the grenadine.
- Don’t stir it! This is a layered drink, and stirring it once you add the grenadine will give you a pretty but monochromatic pink drink.
- Chill your ingredients. To keep the cocktail from watering down too quickly from fast-melting ice, chill all of the ingredients first so the ice doesn’t melt as much to bring down the cocktail’s temperature.
Frequently Asked Questions
You don’t need a top-shelf tequila to make this delicious cocktail because the fruit juice and syrup soften its flavor. But I do recommend a tequila you enjoy drinking! Blanco tequila, or silver tequila, is the best choice because it has a strong flavor that is best enjoyed in a mixed drink. Gold tequila is better for sipping as it is usually smoother on its own and a bit sweeter than silver tequila.
While you can make individual cocktails in under a minute, you can turn this into a pitcher cocktail! I typically mix 3 parts orange juice to 1 part tequila in a pitcher if I’m making a big batch. I add the ice to each individual glass, pour in 6 ounces of the tequila mixture, and top each highball glass individually with grenadine syrup. This ensures every cocktail still gets that gorgeous sunrise effect.
Not as individual cocktails. The longer the drinks sit, the more the ice will melt and dilute the flavors of the cocktail. If you want to do some advance prep, mix the orange juice and tequila in a pitcher as described above and refrigerate, then assemble as directed.
This can get a little confusing, to be honest! Many people use tequila sunrise and tequila sunset interchangeably to refer to a tequila sunrise recipe. Sometimes, the only difference is that grapefruit juice (or a mixture of orange and pineapple juice) is used. Other recipes leave out the grenadine syrup in favor of blackberry brandy (creme de cassis) for a purple hue reminiscent of a sunset.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this tequila sunrise recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Tequila Sunrise
Equipment
- Cocktail glass
- Stirrer
Ingredients
- 2 ounces tequila (60ml)
- 4 ounces orange juice (120ml)
- ¾ ounce grenadine syrup
- Orange slices to garnish
- Maraschino cherry to garnish
Instructions
- In a highball glass filled with ice, add the tequila and orange juice. Stir until combined.
- Slowly pour the grenadine down the side of the glass so that it sinks to the bottom. (Do not stir.) Garnish with an orange slice and cherry.
Notes
- Make it more tart. You can add 1/2 ounce of lime juice with the orange juice and tequila for a more tart cocktail.
- Use a highball glass. A tall glass really shows off the layers and colors.
- Play around with a different juice. You can swap the orange juice out for pineapple juice or grapefruit juice for a fun twist. No, it won’t be a classic tequila sunrise recipe, but it will still be delicious with bright citrus flavors!
- Add seltzer water. You can top the drink off with soda water for a slightly bubbly cocktail that mellows the sweetness of the grenadine.
- Don’t stir it! This is a layered drink, and stirring it once you add the grenadine will give you a pretty but monochromatic pink drink.
- Chill your ingredients. To keep the cocktail from watering down too quickly from fast-melting ice, chill all of the ingredients first so the ice doesn’t melt as much to bring down the cocktail’s temperature.
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