Margarita
50 ml Tequila blanco, 20 ml Triple sec, 25 ml Lime juice, 1 pinch Salt, 1 Lime wedge
Tequila Sunrise
Grenadine sinking through orange - the sunrise is the whole point.
Classic
Easy
3 min
Photo: Tequila sunrise, Mazatlán, 23 de noviembre de 2022 · All credits
Ingredients
Measures below are multiplied for 6 drinks. Unmeasurable amounts such as “a splash” are left as written.
- 270 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 270 ml line. Tequila blanco
- 540 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 540 ml line. Orange juice
- 90 ml Jigger One large side (50 ml) and one small side (25 ml) of a standard jigger, plus a tablespoon. Grenadine - Pour it last and do not stir - the colour is the drink
- 6 slices Orange slice (optional)
- 6 cherries Maraschino cherry (optional)
Measured in Millilitres (UK). Sign in to read these in American measures. Print a kitchen card at this size.
What the jigger, the spoons and the jug hold, in millilitres and in fluid ounces, is on the measures reference.
Quick version
- Tequila and orange juice over ice, then trickle grenadine down the inside of the glass.
Method
Pitcher (6 drinks)Pitcher (6 drinks) - about 900 ml of measured ingredients, before ice and dilution.
Timings and per-glass steps below are written for one drink and are not scaled. A full jug takes longer to chill, so stir or shake until it is properly cold rather than by the clock, and pour over fresh ice one glass at a time.
- Fill a highball glass with ice.
- Pour in the tequila, then the orange juice, and give it a quick stir.
- Trickle the grenadine slowly down the inside of the glass so it settles at the bottom.
- Do not stir again. Add the orange slice and a cherry, and take it to somebody.
Serve it
Volumes in this story are multiplied for the size above, along with the ingredients. Years, ratios and the capacities of glasses and jugs are left as written.
Tequila Sunrise
Two drinks share this name: the older one from the 1930s, made with lime and crème de cassis, and the one everybody means today - tequila, orange juice and a slow red bloom of grenadine, popularised by a hotel bar in Sausalito and then, memorably, by a rock band on tour in 1972. It is the second one that is on this page, because it is the one that earns the name.
Getting it right
Tequila and orange juice is a fine drink; the grenadine is what makes it a sunrise, and it only works if you resist stirring. Pour it last, slowly, down the side of the glass, and let it sink of its own accord - the drink will keep its layers for several minutes, and then turn an unlikely shade of coral when you finally stir it. Use a blanco tequila, which is bright and vegetal and cuts through the juice. Fresh orange juice, as ever, is worth the squeezing.
Tasting notes
Fresh orange and agave at the top, then a sweet pomegranate finish that gets stronger as you work down the glass. It is two drinks in one, and both of them are cheerful.
A cherry and a slice of orange is the garnish, and there is no argument about it.
More Tequila blanco cocktails
Paloma
50 ml Tequila blanco, 60 ml Grapefruit juice, 15 ml Lime juice, 10 ml Simple syrup, 60 ml Soda water, 1 pinch Salt
Tommy's Margarita
60 ml Tequila blanco, 30 ml Lime juice, 15 ml Agave syrup, 1 pinch Salt, 1 wheel Lime