10 Tips For A Better Tequila Sunrise, According To A Bartender

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Tequila Sunrises are one of the most iconic drinks associated with the beloved spirit, aside from the margarita, of course. Regardless of the drink's status, knowing how to craft one properly goes a long way in ensuring every cocktail bearing its name reaches its full potential. At face value, making a Tequila Sunrise is relatively simple. Start by pouring a shot of tequila into a rocks glass, add ice, fill with orange juice, and top with a float of grenadine. However, the devil is in the details, as they say. So, if you're ready to learn how to make a Tequila Sunrise like a pro, there are a few tips to keep in mind.

As a die-hard fan of tequila and someone with 10 years of bartending experience under my belt (plus an additional 10 in the foodservice industry), crafting a top-tier Tequila Sunrise is something I pride myself on — and I'm excited to teach you what it's all about. Keep the tips I describe below in mind the next time you whip up a Tequila Sunrise, and your drinks will reach legendary status in no time. Or, at the very least, they will taste like a professional mixologist made them. They might just make you the envy of all your tequila-loving friends as well. Score!

No surprise here, but not all orange juices are made alike. Sure, they are all orange juice, but the difference in flavors and quality is vast from one brand to the next, especially if you consider that some are made from concentrate. Yuck, no thanks. As a result, opting for a store-bought option isn't always in your best interest. Instead, I recommend never settling for anything less than fresh-squeezed orange juice. Even if the oranges you juice aren't the sweetest or the most ripe, the fresh flavors will shine through and ensure your Tequila Sunrise tastes significantly better than anything you could make with a lower-quality, store-bought option.

I know squeezing orange juice at home isn't in everyone's wheelhouse, but thankfully, it's easy to find fresh-squeezed juices at the grocery store. Or, at least something close to it. For example, Simply Orange Juice is darn close to fresh-squeezed, and it is ready to step in and make light work of your next batch of Tequila Sunrise cocktails. So, don't fret if you don't have a juicer. Just make sure to avoid some of the worst orange juice brands, and you'll be miles ahead of most amateur bartenders.

When many of us think of grenadine, a Shirley Temple is the first thing that comes to mind. After all, it's a classic drink loved by children, and it could be the first way people experience the ingredient. The best grenadine for a Shirley Temple is straight-up cherry juice, often right from a jar of maraschino cherries. Or, at least, a cherry-flavored syrup. You've probably seen bartenders using it before, but when it comes to a top-notch Tequila Sunrise, it simply won't cut it.

To make the most vibrant, eye-catching, and above all else tasty Tequila Sunrise, I recommend opting for a premium grenadine made with pomegranate juice. Not only is it a deeper, richer shade of red, but the flavors are unbeatable. The use of pomegranate juice lends a more complex flavor than cherry-flavored grenadine. It also stands out more when paired with a heavy mixer like orange juice. So, skip the basic stuff and grab a bottle of something exceptional, like Liber and Co. real grenadine; both your eyes and palate will be glad you did.

If you think you can get away with using cheap tequila in a Tequila Sunrise, you're not wrong. Thanks to the bold flavors of grenadine and orange juice, the harsher notes of less expensive tequilas are easily masked. However, since we are talking about making the best Tequila Sunrise, you don't just want to get away with a low-cost option. So, make sure you choose your tequila wisely.

You don't have to go overboard and buy the priciest bottle of tequila for Tequila Sunrise cocktails, but spending a few more bucks on a bottle really pays off in the end. For starters, cheap tequila like Jose Cuervo Gold is a recipe for a hangover, and nobody wants that. In general, you want to stay away from any tequila that's labelled "gold." 

As it turns out, many are not made with 100% agave (the real ingredient used to make tequila) and feature additives, so it's hard to call them a great option. Instead, I recommend choosing a mid-range blanco/silver tequila. Silver tequilas offer a bright, grassy flavor that tastes wonderful in a Tequila Sunrise. Two of my favorites are Casamigos and Espolòn. A bottle of either only costs about $25 to $50, so they won't break the bank, and they punch well above their weight.

You might think cocktail garnishes don't really matter since they are purely aesthetic. However, I beg to differ. They might not alter the flavor of a Tequila Sunrise, but they give it a final flourish that won't go unnoticed. After all, we eat, or in this case drink, with our eyes first. So, if your Tequila Sunrise catches someone's eye before they even get a taste, it will undoubtedly lead to a better drinking experience.

The grenadine in a Tequila Sunrise is a showstopping addition that almost works as a garnish all by itself, but we can do better. The classic garnish for a tequila sunrise is a flag, aka a cherry and an orange slice, and that's what I recommend. If that feels like a bit much, you could use one or the other, but why not go all out? After all, you are trying to make the best Tequila Sunrise around, right? That's what a flag will give you. Bonus points if you wrap the orange slice around the cherry and use a cocktail skewer to keep them together.

Glassware is another area where amateur bartenders tend to dial it in. I mean, does the shape and size of the glass really matter? Absolutely. Similar to garnishes, they provide drinkers with a glimpse of their cocktail before they get a taste, and each drink should catch the eye. With a Tequila Sunrise, a clear glass is essential so you can get a peek at the beautifully layered colors — so mugs and other opaque glassware shouldn't even be on the table.

Opting for a large glass can also throw off the balance of ingredients in a Tequila Sunrise. I recommend sticking to a classic rocks glass. This ensures you don't go overboard on orange juice. If a larger drink is more your style (less refills, am I right?), pint glasses aren't off limits. Still, they hold much more liquid than your average rocks glass, so you'll need more of everything to ensure a balanced cocktail — not just the orange juice.

A hurricane glass, which is typically used for tropical rum drinks, also makes a good choice because it gives your Tequila Sunrise beachy vibes, and that's always a good thing in my book. Most of us don't have specialized glassware like this on hand, but if you really want to take your Tequila Sunrise to new heights, it might be wise to invest in a set (like these Vikko Hurricane Glasses).

A lot of amateur bartenders start any cocktail by filling the glass with ice. However, this is not recommended, especially if you are making more than one drink at a time. Instead, you should always begin by adding the booze. The reason for this is that the moment the alcohol and ice meet, the cubes start to melt, leading to a more diluted drink in the end. To avoid this in your Tequila Sunrise, always start with tequila. Then, fill your glass with ice.

The next step to making a Tequila Sunrise is adding the orange juice. If you're squeezing as you go, try to move through this step somewhat quickly. When the glass is almost full, give it a stir, and then it's time for the finishing touch: grenadine. Pour it slowly over the top to help it layer properly. Lastly, garnish your Tequila Sunrise, and it's good to go. Whatever you do, don't stir it after adding the grenadine. More on that later, though.

Just like every other ingredient that goes into making a Tequila Sunrise, the type of ice you use matters. While its main purpose is to keep the cocktail cold, and any type of ice will technically get the job done, ice can affect more than the temperature of your drink. A great example of this is the large whiskey stones or spheres that cocktail bars pour booze-forward drinks over. Sure, the ice spheres look cool, but the minimal surface area of smaller cubes reduces dilution, keeping the drink pure for as long as possible. With a Tequila Sunrise, which contains a mixer, a giant ice cube is not recommended.

The best type of ice for a top-notch Tequila Sunrise is good old-fashioned ice cubes. They don't melt super fast, and you likely already have some in your freezer. The smaller ice chips that come in bags of ice also work exceptionally well. Crushed ice isn't off the table either, although it will melt quickly. It gives a Tequila Sunrise a more tropical, almost frozen appeal that's great on a super hot day. Better drink fast, though, because no one likes watery orange juice. Even so, you don't need to get fancy with the ice in Tequila Sunrises. Standard ice cubes from your freezer are more than sufficient.

One of the reasons people are so drawn to Tequila Sunrises is the alluring aesthetic appeal. When crafted correctly, the grenadine and orange juice layer beautifully. However, this can only be achieved if you make sure to avoid the biggest Tequila Sunrise mistake: Refrain from stirring it once the grenadine is added. If you do, the eye-catching layering effect is eliminated, and instead, you get a dark orangey-pink drink that simply doesn't do the recipe justice.

Since a proper Tequila Sunrise features a red bottom layer, it's easy to assume that the grenadine gets added to the cocktail glass first. This would be wrong, though. Thanks to the heavier weight of grenadine, it sinks to the bottom of the glass without any additional tools. This means layering a Tequila Sunrise couldn't be easier. Simply pour it over the nearly finished cocktail right at the end in a slow swirling motion and watch as it begins to pool below the orange juice, creating the desired effect. It may sound complicated or, at the very least, look challenging, but it's very straightforward. Just remember not to stir, and the ingredients will do the work for you.

Bartenders rely on specialized tools to create the eye-catching cocktails we all know and love. Fortunately for us, Tequila Sunrises don't require very many because there's no need to shake them, and the grenadine practically layers itself. Still, having the right tools will not only make creating a Tequila Sunrise easier but also lead to better-tasting drinks.

Aside from the right glassware, a citrus juicer is my top recommendation. It allows you to squeeze as you go and makes fresh-squeezed juice super attainable without a giant appliance. They are certainly cheaper than a juicing machine, too. Using a pour spout on your tequila bottle is also recommended. It makes getting the perfect pour practically effortless, especially if you pair it with a jigger — you know, the little two-sided cone-shaped measuring tool every bartender relies on to get the right proportions. You could eye it, but balance is hard to attain if you go that route.

The final tool that can help you craft a more perfect Tequila Sunrise is a strainer. While not essential, it can assist you in removing pulp from fresh-squeezed orange juice. As you'll learn coming up, you don't have to remove excess pulp, but depending on your audience, it can make a world of difference regarding textural enjoyment.

Last but not least, knowing your audience is crucial when it comes to making cocktails. That goes for all drinks, but when it comes to Tequila Sunrises in particular, there are a lot of ways to turn off people's individual palates. For starters, if you or whoever you're mixing one for doesn't like excessively sweet drinks, minimizing the grenadine (the sweetest ingredient of the bunch) goes a long way in making it more appealing.

Another way to instantly turn off some drinkers is with the orange juice. Some people have a strong aversion to orange juice that still contains pulp, while others revel in the somewhat chewy texture of it. With this in mind, straining out residual pulp can lead to a much more enjoyable experience, depending on who you're serving it to.

The final thing to consider about your audience is how strong they like their drinks. Some people want their drinks to mask the alcohol, while others prefer a booze-forward flavor, so the amount of tequila you use makes a big difference. Seems simple enough, right? It is. The key is checking in with your audience and getting a feel for their particular tastes before you dive in.