Tequila Sunrise

Tequila Sunrise cocktail! Made with tequila, orange juice, and grenadine syrup which provides the red colour in Tequila Sunrise, with a vibrant colour that screams of summer!! One of the best tequila cocktails that’s refreshing and dangerously easy to drink!

Tequila Sunrise

Am I the only person who wonders why it’s called a Tequila Sunrise when it looks just as much like a sunset when it’s certainly more appropriate to be drinking these??! 😂

Name aside, this is one of the most popular Tequila Cocktails around, the other being margaritas. Orange and tequila is a classic combination and it’s a refreshing drink that even people who don’t like tequila will enjoy drinking because really, you can’t taste the tequila at all!

What goes in a Tequila Sunrise

Here’s what you need for this deceptively potential cocktail:

• Tequila – use a mid range one which, in Australia, is around the $40 to $50 range. Reserve the better stuff for drinking straight! I use Jose Cuervo which is a top-mid range Mexican tequila;

• orange juice – the fresher the better! Avoid the sweet reconstituted stuff with loads of added sugar;

• grenadine syrup – a non alcoholic red sugar syrup made from concentrated pomegranate juice. This is what makes Tequila Sunrise red – see below for how!

What makes Tequila Sunrise red?

The signature red sunrise effect is created simply by pouring Grenadine in. Because it’s a heavy syrup, it sinks to the bottom when poured into the tequila-orange juice.

To achieve the “cleanest” sunrise effect ie. red on bottom, retain orange colour on top, drizzle the syrup down the side of the glass using the back of a teaspoon.

Otherwise, just drizzle it down the inside of the glass straight from the bottle.

Don’t just pour it in the middle of the glass – if you do this, the syrup discolours the orange juice more.

Garnishes

And here’s what is traditionally used to garnish Tequila Sunrises:

• orange slices; and

• Maraschino Cherries – sold in Dan Murphys in Australia! If you can’t find them, just use normal glace cherries sold in the baking aisle of supermarkets – it won’t have the stems but they still look good!

Potency

Each drink contains 1 part tequila to 2 parts orange juice. Being what’s called a “long drink” (a drink with relatively large volume as opposed to, for example, whisky on ice which is a “short drink”), Tequila Sunrises aren’t as potent as other cocktails.

But it’s dangerously easy to drink vast volumes because they’re so refreshing and you can’t taste the alcohol!

When to serve Tequila Sunrise

Make Tequila Sunrises all through the warm months, by the pool, for tropical themed gatherings and just anytime you want to pick up the mood with a vibrant colourful drink to get the party started!

It’s a good drink to serve that’s not overly potent so it’s a sensible choice for outdoor functions on hot summer days (dehydration and potent cocktails is never a good thing!).

What to serve for nibbles

As for nibbles to serve on the side, here are a few suggestions:

Pig Out Salsa (Chorizo, Black Bean and Corn Salsa)

Cucumber Canapés with Smoked Salmon Mousse

Guacamole

Holiday Crostini – 8 DELICIOUS ways!

Restaurant Style Salsa recipe

Avocado Hummus

Dips

25 BEST Party Food Recipes!

And for more cocktails, head over here -> Cocktail recipes. – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Tequila Sunrise

Author: Nagi

Prep: 5 minutes mins

Cocktails, Drinks

Tropical!, Western

5 from 2 votes

Servings1

Tap or hover to scale

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• 704

Recipe video above. Simple recipe but useful to see the best way to get the red "sunrise" effect on the bottom of the glass! Use recipe SCALER to scale recipe up.

Ingredients

• ▢ 45 ml / 1.5oz tequila
• ▢ 90ml / 3 oz orange juice
• ▢ 15 ml / 0.5 oz grenadine syrup

Garnishes

• ▢ Orange slices
• ▢ Maraschino cherry

Instructions

• Pour tequila and orange juice in a tall glass. Scale up recipe as required for your glass side (1 part tequila to 3 parts OJ)!
• Mix, then fill with ice.
• Drizzle grenadine down the side of the glass over the back of a teaspoon (see video). Do not mix!
• Garnish with orange slice and Maraschino cherry. Serve immediately!

Recipe Notes:

1. Tequila - use a mid range one which, in Australia, is around the $40 to $50 range. Reserve the better stuff for drinking straight! I use Jose Cuervo which is a top-mid range Mexican tequila.
2. Orange juice - the fresher the better! Avoid the sweet reconstituted stuff with loads of added sugar.
3. Grenadine syrup - a non alcoholic red sugar syrup made from concentrated pomegranate juice. This is what makes Tequila Sunrise red - see video!
4. Maraschino Cherries - sold in Dan Murphys in Australia! If you can't find them, just use normal glace cherries sold in the baking aisle of supermarkets - it won't have the stems but they still look good!

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 191cal (10%)Carbohydrates: 20g (7%)Protein: 1g (2%)Fat: 1g (2%)Saturated Fat: 1g (6%)Sodium: 6mgPotassium: 186mg (5%)Sugar: 15g (17%)Vitamin A: 186IU (4%)Vitamin C: 47mg (57%)Calcium: 10mg (1%)Iron: 1mg (6%)

Keywords: Tequila cocktail, Tequila Sunrise

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