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)