| IBA official cocktail | |
|---|---|
A tequila sunrise demonstrating its resemblance to a sunrise, in a stemware rather than the usual collins glass
| |
| Type | Mixed drink |
| Base spirit | |
| Served | On the rocks: poured over ice |
| Standard garnish | half orange slice or orange zest |
| Standard drinkware |  |
| IBA specified ingredients† |
|
| Preparation | Pour tequila and orange juice directly into highball glass filled with ice cubes. Add the grenadine syrup to create chromatic effect (sunrise), do not stir. |
| † Tequila sunrise recipeatInternational Bartenders Association | |
The tequila sunrise is a cocktail made of tequila, orange juice, and grenadine syrup. The drink is served unmixed in a tall glass. The modern drink originates from Sausalito, California, in the early 1970s after an earlier iteration created in the 1930s in Phoenix, Arizona. The cocktail is named for its appearance when served—with gradations of color resembling a sunrise.
The original tequila sunrise contained tequila, crème de cassis, lime juice, and soda water, and was served at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel where it was created by Gene Sulit in the 1930s or 1940s.[1]
The more popular modern version of the cocktail contains tequila, orange juice, and grenadine, and was created by Bobby Lozoff and Billy Rice in the early 1970s while they were working as young bartenders at the TridentinSausalito, California north of San Francisco. At a party at the Trident organized by Bill Graham to kick off the Rolling Stones' 1972 tour in America, Mick Jagger had one of the cocktails, liked it, and he and his entourage started drinking them.[2][3] They later ordered them all across America, even dubbing the tour itself their "cocaine and tequila sunrise tour".[4][5]
At the time, the Trident was the largest outlet for tequila in the United States[citation needed], and in 1973 Jose Cuervo picked up on the new drink as a marketing opportunity and put the recipe for the new drink on the back of their bottles of tequila, and promoted it in other ways. Later that same year, the Eagles recorded a song called "Tequila Sunrise" for their Desperado album as the drink was soaring in popularity.[6] In 1988, a successful film titled Tequila Sunrise was released, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Mel Gibson, and Kurt Russell and directed by Robert Towne.
On June 25, 2023, the Marin History Museum placed a historical marker at the Trident Restaurant to commemorate the Rolling Stones party and the re-interpretation of the Tequila Sunrise there.[7]
The tequila sunrise is considered a long drink and is usually served in a collinsorhighball glass. The International Bartender Association has designated this cocktail as an IBA Official Cocktail.
The drink is mixed by pouring in tequila, ice, then the juice and, lastly, syrup. The signature look of the drink depends on adding the syrup without mixing with the other ingredients. A spoon may be used to guide the syrup down the glass wall to the bottom of the glass with minimal mixing.
Mick came up to the bar and asked for a margarita, I asked him if he had ever tried a tequila sunrise, he said no, I built him one and they started sucking them up. After that they took them all across the country.
The '72 tour was known by other names—the cocaine and Tequila Sunrise tour, or the STP, Stones Touring Party.
In 1973, Jose Cuervo seized on this new cocktail sensation and began marketing it in various print advertisements, eventually releasing it as one of their canned 'club cocktails.' 'Lou, (the manager of the Trident) talked to the Cuervo people,' said Lozoff. 'We were the biggest outlet in the United States, and they were talking to us – that recipe, with crème de cassis, went on the back of bottles, and at one point our recipe made it on the back of the gold bottle.'
