Tequila Sunrise

Ingredients

-4 oz orange juice

-2 oz tequila (I used Montezuma)

-.5 oz grenadine

-Orange slice for garnish

Prep

Mix the orange juice, tequila, and grenadine in a glass, stir, and put an orange slice on the side of the glass

Cost

The cost for one tequila sunrise is negligible, maybe $1 at most.  If you need to go out and buy supplies things might get a little more expensive though- not many stores will sell you 2 ounces of tequila, or half  an ounce of grenadine.  A bottle of tequila can cost you anywhere from $5 to over $50, depending on the quality of the tequila.  As a (semi) broke college student, I opted for the cheaper tequila.  A 1/5^th bottle of Montezuma costs $7 at my local liquor store.  A carton of orange juice will run you about $2.50,  and the grenadine I bought cost me $12. So if you spend about $21.50 you will have enough supplies to make this drink for many nights.

Thoughts

My initial thought after mixing this drink together was “Thaaats why they call it a tequila sunrise”.  The grenadine, denser than the orange juice, settled to the bottom of the glass while the orange juice and tequila stayed on top.  This made the drink resemble a sunrise.  So before even sipping this drink I gave it thumbs up in my head for presentation.  After taking a sip, my first thought was wow, this would go great with breakfast.  The grenadine neutralizes some of the sourness of the orange juice, making this drink very easy to swallow, and while you can taste the tequila, it is far from overpowering.    My girlfriend Alice was once again with me to try this concoction.  She thought it was a little too sour, so she added more grenadine to hers (1/4 ounce) to make it sweeter.  She also decided to try this drink on the rocks, which made it even better.  She likes to modify drinks to her own liking, and while I don’t agree with everything she does, the extra grenadine and ice made her tequila sunrise a lot sweeter and easier to swallow for people who really do not want to taste their alcohol. So if you can not stand the taste of tequila, go ahead! Pour some extra grenadine in, throw a few ice cubes in, no one is judging you in your own house.  Cheers to Bobby Lazoff and Billy Rice for making the more popular version of this drink in the 1970s!

(Once again the picture is not mine, my digital camera is still messed up… might be time to buy a new one)

Late Night Whiskey Sour

Ingredients

-1.5 ounces whiskey (I used Jim Beam)

-4 ounces sour mix

                - The sour mix is just 1 ounce lemon juice, 1 ounce sugar and two ounces of water mixed together

-Crushed Ice

Prep

Combine whiskey and sour mix into a glass with ice, and stir it up.  You can add a lemon slice for garnish if you want to get fancy.  

Cost

To make one whiskey sour, you need 1-2 lemons which should cost about $1.  The sugar and water are pretty much free- a pound of sugar would cost about $2.50 depending on where you live so 2.5/16= fifteen cents for an ounce of sugar.  A bag of ice costs around $3 dollars, and a gallon of water cost about $1.  So the most you would spend on one swig of this delicious drink would be about $4-5, but most people already have sugar, ice and water, so it would actually be around $1 for supplies. 

Thoughts

I put together a few shots of this recipe after work last night.  I work 2^nd shift, 3-11, so by the time I get home I’m ready for two things- a drink, and bed.  This shot was just what I needed to get my mind off cleaning operating rooms (I know, awesome job).  I bought a few lemons on my way back from work, and even though they probably weren’t fresh (its winter here) they still added a lot of flavor.  I served this drink to my girlfriend, and my friend Rob, who decided to drop by for a late night buzz.  My whiskey sour was perfect, just the right mix of sweet and sour.  My girlfriend is a little less tolerant to the lemon juice, she thought it was too sour.  If your like my girlfriend, you can just add less lemon juice, like .5 ounces instead of a full ounce.  Rob was also satisfied with this recipe, but he tends to like any drink, as long as there is alcohol in it. I have to note that you can buy a whiskey sour mixer from the supermarket, and you just have to mix the mixer and whiskey together.  This is a good option for people who don't have a lot of time to make their own drinks, but a drink made with fresh ingredients will always taste better than a store bought concoction.    I would highly recommend this recipe to anyone who would like to enjoy a shot or two of whiskey rather than take them straight.    

(The picture I posted with this article is not the whisky sour I made, my digital camera wasn’t working so I just copied a pic from google images that closely resembled the drink that I made, in the future I will be taking my own pictures)