This tequila sunrise recipe is sweet and smooth, only includes three ingredients, and has the beautiful color gradient of a summer morning! Combine them with margarita cookies for a fantastic summer combination.

I don’t frequently order a fruity cocktail at a bar. A French 75 cocktail is my go-to, and I also seek for a dry Riesling. Alternatively, if the establishment has its own brew, I’ll order a lighter type beer, such as a hefeweizen or a blonde ale (and no, its not because Im blonde).

But what about fruity drinks? My list is seldom at the top. I will, however, make an exception for a tequila sunrise. You need to try this drink. I almost despise how much I like these things.

What’s in a tequila sunrise?

I’m not sure if you’ve tried one, but it tastes just like juice and goes down so smoothly. Tequila, orange juice, and grenadine are the only three components.

That’s all. There is no need for shaking or stirring, and no simple syrup is required.

Garnish with orange slices and maraschino cherries. Yeah, so strictly speaking, there are five components.

The first thing I do is drop the cherry and orange slice into the drink, allowing them to absorb all of the flavors before saving them to consume at the end. I’ve also been known to load up on cherries when I make them myself, since I do what I want.

I’ve begun getting my stomach acclimated to fruity beverages in preparation for our Hawaiian honeymoon this autumn, since our itinerary is as follows:

• Be as calm as possible on the 14-hour travel from Boston to Hawaii, and drink some mai tais.
• After landing, go straight to the hotel bar to celebrate your survival of the journey, ideally with a fruity cocktail presented in a pineapple.
• See the dawn on Haleakala.
• Consume ridiculously fresh poke.
• Attend a legitimate luau (which will of course, have fruity drinks)
• Splash about with sea turtles in the water.
• after splashing about in the ocean Have someone bring us fruity beverages beforehand.
• See a volcano
• Drink in the cave behind the waterfall at Hotel #1.
• Become friends with the penguins in the hotel (thats right, I said penguins)
• In hotel #2, take a tropical mixology lesson.
• Enjoy some shaved ice
• Aerial silks are available at Hotel #2.
• I’m going to become a vacation tiki cocktail expert and report back to you with my findings.

My pals, there will be a lot of fruity cocktails.

How to make a tequila sunrise

Meanwhile, for those of you who are doing our Honeymoon Mixology Stomach & Liver Prep Course at home, here are the fast and simple procedures for constructing a tequila sunrise cocktail:

Step 1:

With ice cubes, fill 4/3 of the way. Begin with a highball glass filled with 3

2 ways using ice to make more place for the components. I’m really using these 12 ounce Collins glasses from Crate & Barrel that we received as wedding presents in these images. If you’re going to use a 12 ounce glass, you may want to only fill it halfway.

Step 2:

Next you’ll add your tequila.

You may use whichever brand of tequila you choose, but my personal recommendation is to use a gold tequila rather than something like Sauza Blue Silver, which has extra fruit taste notes and will not give you the typical tequila sunrise flavor.

Step 3:

The orange juice comes next. You want it to be smooth and devoid of pulp. I can’t express how much I despise pulp and how it has no place in this drink. When folks in restaurants offer me orange juice with pulp, they have become my new worst hate. Why do you despise me, Karen?

Now that I’ve spoken my bit, let’s move on.

Step 4:

Pour in the grenadine. I normally simply pour it gently in a zigzag manner so it doesn’t run right down the centre, but you may get creative with it if you like.

This will work best if there is some space at the top of the glass, rather than if it is fully full. Because it is practically asking for lovely blood red grenadine all over everything, and no, I am not speaking from experience.

Turn an upside-down spoon inside the glass, with the tip resting on the inner edge (or near the edge) of the glass, just over the top of your current drink.

Pour the grenadine gently over the back of the spoon from the other side of the glass, sliding the spoon up the side of the glass as the liquid level increases.

That’s all! LOOK AT THESE COLORS.

I swear to you, I have some photos of sunsets on the coast that look almost just like this. I also want to acquire some in Hawaii. When I acquire them, I’ll perform a side-by-side comparison to see which is more beautiful.

Sorry, tequila sunrise, it’ll most likely be Hawaii. There are no harsh feelings.

In fact, it’s so beautiful that I made it into an animated gif so you can witness the whole process of creating your own sunrise without having to scroll.

You are very welcome:

Luxardo maraschino cherries

So, let’s talk about those maraschino cherries. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but there are these ridiculously pricey, fancy cherries out there called Luxardo Gourmet Maraschino Cherries (affiliate link).

Of course, I buy whichever jar of maraschino cherries is on sale at the supermarket and consume them in excessive numbers.

I must confess that there is a significant difference in quality. Luxardo cherries include no corn syrup, thickeners, or preservatives. They’re so flavorful that it appears in their color; they’re considerably darker, nearly purpleish black.

These seem to be olives at first sight. These are absolutely worth the additional money for the quality, but we are attempting to conserve money here in preparation for our trip to Hawaii, so bright red inexpensive cherries it is.

Aside: don’t add olives in your tequila sunrise, since that sounds awful.

There’s nothing spectacular or exceptional about the orange slices that I need to inform you about. Just purchase one orange, slice it, and add it to your drink.

The tutorial is now complete.

Be careful to serve these on coasters or cocktail napkins, since the outsides of the glasses will be dripping with condensation.

I know that applies for pretty much any drink with ice in it, but I’m worried about your tequila sunrise because it’s just too gorgeous to fall out of your hands and into the floor. I’m quite sure there’s a rule against squandering a nice drink someplace.

Peek behind the scenes

If you’ve ever wondered what type of bizarre setup I use to capture these photographs, here’s an example for this recipe. The light was streaming in from the east side of the house, and I didn’t want cat hair all over the scene.

The pantry, which is a very tiny room, is the only spot in the home on that side where I can lock a door to keep the cats out. The shelves full of food are just slightly offscreen to the left in the image above, so you can get a feel of the breadth.

My husband was outside doing some landscaping around that picture-perfect air conditioner unit, so when I was finished, I opened the window and asked if he needed a drink.

He reached in, grabbed one, and then chugged both drinks before returning to work.

Although I don’t necessarily advocate drinking alcoholic beverages, they do taste like great, fantastic juice.

To be honest, it’s primarily juice.

Looking for snacks to pair with your tequila sunrise?

• Salad with Watermelon, Blackberries, and Mint
• Whitney Bond’s Grilled Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos
• Hungry Thirst Play’s Crunchy Pineapple Salsa
• Foodal’s Tropical Chicken Cups
• Sugar Salt Magic’s Mango Panna Cotta Coconut Cheesecake
• Averie Cooks’ Pina Colada Seven Layer Bars
• Contemplating Sweets’ Hawaiian Haupia (Coconut Pudding)
• Life Made Easy Coconut Lime Chiffon Cake