Tequila Sunrise

A classic Tequila based cocktail, the Tequila Sunrise mixes Tequila with citrus juices for an easy to make and easy to drink cocktail that's sure to refresh. Enjoy this cocktail in the summer, or really any time of year.

Not only does this cocktail taste good, but it's nice to look at as well, so be sure to put some care into making it to create the layed affect. This will also ensure didn't flavours come through as you enjoy the drink.

This is a fun cocktail, add it to your repetoire today!

Total Time 5

Servings 1 cocktail

Ingredients

50 mL Tequila Blanco
1 tbsp Triple Sec
2 tsp Grenadine
60 mL Orange Juice
30 mL Lemon Juice
Garnish with a cherry and/or orange slice

Instructions

Add Tequila, Triple Sec, Lemon Juice, and Orange Juice to a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. Shake until it's almost too cold to touch.
Add the Grenadine to a tall glass.
Add a few ice cubes to the glass.
Carefully double strain the the drink into the glass, taking care to not mix the Grenadine with the drink. You want to create two layers.
Enjoy.

Notes

The Tequila Sunrise was invented in the first half of the 1900's, so it's been around for awhile! However, the original version has changed a lot over the years, and the modern recipe resembles a newer version developed in the 1970's.

The cocktail increased in popularity after it was heavily marketed by Tequila manufacturer Jose Cuervo on the back of its Tequila bottles. Since then it's stood the test of time and remains a very popular drink. And why not? It tastes great!

A Bit More About the Tequila Sunrise

The Tequila Sunrise is a pretty famous cocktail. What’s not to like? Tequila, Triple Sec, a few fruit juices… Plus it looks damn good. The name of this cocktail completely lines up with how it looks. It’s part of the appeal! While there’s a few ingredients to the Tequila Sunrise, non of them are terribly unusual and, all in all, it’s pretty easy to make. It’s a great cocktail!

Does the recipe still work if more than one cocktail is made at once?

You may be able to shake two cocktails at once, but we wouldn’t suggest trying to do anymore, otherwise you’ll overload your cocktail shaker. If you’re trying to whip up a few Tequila Sunrises, the best thing to do is to measure everything up in advance so you can then make the cocktails quickly.

Does making a Tequila Sunrise in advance work?

No, it wouldn’t work. We wouldn’t even suggest shaking the shaken ingredients ahead of time. The Tequila Sunrise is best made fresh, and don’t let it sit too long, otherwise the Grenadine will mix with the rest of the cocktail. As mentioned, if you want to measure everything beforehand, that’s fine though.

Is there a favourite time to drink a Tequila Sunrise?

Having a cocktail or two while watching the sun rise is kind of unusual; most people don’t start drinking that early and, if you’re still up from the night before, it’s unlikely you’re doing cocktails! But on the other end of the day, enjoying a Sun Rise while watching the sun set would be a great way to enjoy this cocktail. Sitting on the beach, a cool cocktail in hand, and watching the sun go down is a lovely experience.

While the Tequila Sunrise is a somewhat tropical drink, it doesn’t necessarily need to be a vacation drink. It feels fancy but it’s also simple enough to have in ordinary times, so feel free to have a Tequila Sunrise regardless of what’s going around you. However, you’d probably want to wait until the summer time, as it’s not really considered a warming winter cocktail! But hey, do what you like…

How strong is a Tequila Sunrise

Despite Tequila often having a reputation for being strong, the Tequila Sunrise is actually a recipe that has an about average amount of alcohol in it if you compare it to other cocktail recipes. People always perceive Tequila as some crazy party drink, but it’s really no better or worse than other spirits like Whiskey, Vodka, or Rum, so it doesn’t make a drink inherently stronger!

So, while the Tequila Sunrise is average in strength (compared to other cocktails), where you may go wrong is that it’s full of fruit juices and a little bit sweet. Of course the Tequila flavours come through in the drink, but much of it is marked by the sweetness of the Grenadine and the sour aspects of the citrus. With all of this, it’s easy to forget you’re drinking a cocktail and overdo it!

What music goes well with a Tequila Sunrise?

While we don’t think this has to be a vacation drink, we still think it’s a beach drink, especially a drink to enjoy on the beach in the late afternoon or early evening. Maybe you live near the beach or you’re at the beach for the weekend. Whatever excuse, we see people sitting on the beach enjoying a Tequila Sunrise, perhaps with a small portable speaker nearby. The speaker is playing modern acoustic music. It’s not pop music, and just because it’s acoustic doesn’t mean it’s light or soft. It’s a relaxing style of music that goes well with your beachside sunset.

We have some more cocktail recipes for you

If you need more cocktail recipes, we have lots and lots! We’re assuming you like Tequila so we’ll point you in that direction first, but feel free to browse however you like to browse.

All Tequila cocktail recipes: this is the section of our site that has all of our Tequila cocktail recipes. Keep the bottle open and see what other cocktails you can make.

Top 20 classic cocktails: the Tequila Sunrise is, in our opinion at least, a classic recipe. It’s well known and has been around for awhile, so it fits the description! Here’s our favourite classics!

All Tiki cocktail recipes: we’d put the Tequila Sunrise into the wider array of Tiki cocktails. It’s not really core Tiki, but close enough to be associated with it. Check out some other Tiki cocktail recipes to try.