Tequila Sunrise (California)

The Tequila Sunrise cocktail, with its bright striations of colour, evokes a summer sunrise. This classic drink has only three ingredients - tequila, grenadine and orange juice - and is served unmixed to preserve the colour of each layer. The flavour is refreshingly sweet, with just a hint of tequila. It's a great summer cocktail, but it works for anytime you want to conjure up the warmth of summer. The more popular version that is served today was created in the early 1970s by Bobby Lazoff and Billy Rice while working as young bartenders at The Trident in Sausalito, California. At the time, this bar-restaurant-music venue was the largest outlet for tequila in the USA. And it also seemed to be the place for parties - in 1972 the Rolling Stones kicked off their American tour at a party there and Mick Jagger had a Tequila Sunrise, developed a taste for it, and then started necking them with his whole entourage. As a result they ordered them all across America. Subsequently, in 1973, Jose Cuervo realised this was an opportunity to sell more bottles and put the recipe on the label.

2 oz tequila (60 mL)
4 oz orange juice, freshly squeezed (90 mL)
½ oz Grenadine (15 mL)

Garnish:
orange slice
maraschino cherry

Fill a glass with ice, then add tequila and orange juice and stir.

Add the grenadine and wait until it settles at the bottom, or use a spoon, and guide it down the sides of a glass, with minimal mixing.

Garnish and serve.

Makes 1 cocktail.

Cook's Notes: Although typically served in a Collins glass, some claim that a tequila sunrise will look more visually impressive in a highball glass.