Enjoy the sweet, refreshing taste of a tequila sunrise. Easy to make, choose between the popular recipe with orange juice or mix up the original. Freelance writer and cocktail book author Colleen Graham is a seasoned mixologist who loves sharing her knowledge of spirits and raspberry lime tequila cocktail for preparing drinks.

He is a professional bartender, bar owner, recipe creator, and drink writer, though he prefers the title “obsessive cocktail nerd. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. You don’t need any special skills to create the “sunrise” effect because it occurs naturally. While it is a great cocktail, the famous orange juice and grenadine version is not the original.

If you want a taste of the first tequila sunrise, you’ll need lime juice, crème de cassis, and club soda. It’s equally delicious and includes the sunrise, but it has an entirely different taste. In a highball glass filled with ice cubes, pour the tequila and orange juice. Slowly pour the grenadine around the inside edge of the glass. It will sink and gradually rise to mix with the other ingredients. Garnish with an orange slice and cherry.

The best tequila for a tequila sunrise is whatever you have in stock. There’s no need to go top-shelf, but you also want to pour a tequila that you actually enjoy. The fruit flavors are heavy, so it’s OK to be frugal with this drink. To make the tequila sunrise by the pitcher, simply increase the ingredients. Retain the 1 part tequila to 2 parts orange juice or use 3 parts juice to soften the alcohol.

Add the grenadine either in the pitcher or pour it into each glass. Likewise, use ice in the pitcher or glasses, or both. There are a few stories behind the origin of the tequila sunrise. As with most cocktail histories, things get a little cloudy at times, and it’s hard to know which story to believe.

One account claims that the drink welcomed tourists to Cancun and Acapulco in the 1950s. A more plausible story points to Gene Sulit, who tended bar at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in the 1930s and ’40s. He likely created the original version. Another credits it to bartenders Bobby Lazoff and Billy Rice at The Trident, a restaurant in Sausalito, California, during the tequila craze of the 1970s. The original tequila sunrise is sparkling, light, and features crème de cassis, a sweet black currant liqueur with a deep red color. How Strong Is a Tequila Sunrise? It’s a tasty way to sweeten up your OJ.

There is a margarita for everything, and the blended tequila sunrise margarita is quite fun. The firefly pairs vodka and grapefruit juice with grenadine to create a simple, tart drink. Similarly, the ruby rum sunrise is a sweet-sour rum cocktail with grapefruit juice. A stunning martini-style drink, the sour sunrise switches to bourbon whiskey.