The Tequila Sunrise cocktail has been around since the early 70s. The easy to make cocktail wasn’t always quite so easy. It wasn’t really that hard either unless of course you were slinging drinks for the likes of the Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead or Janis Joplin. Robert “Bobby” Lozoff was mixing and pouring drinks at the Trident in Sausalito, California just north of San Francisco in 1972 when the place was rented out for a private party by Bill Graham, promoter for the Rolling Stones. It was the beginning of their ’72 U.S. tour at the time.
The Tequila Sunrise is named for the way the cocktail looks as the colors move around in the glass thus resembling a sunrise. To kick off the Rolling Stones 1972 U.S. Tour Mick, Keith and the boys had one (or 20) at the Trident. According to Keith Richards’s book, Life, the tour was unofficially known as the Cocaine and Tequila Sunrise tour. Also, in 1973 The Eagles released their song written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey dedicated to the drink called Tequila Sunrise. The rest as they say is history.
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The Tequila Sunrise by Rob “Bobby” Lozoff, c~1972
Ingredients
- 2 oz Tequila
- 4 oz Orange Juice
- 1.5 oz Grenadine
- Slice of orange
- Cherry
- Ice
- Collins glass
Instructions
- Pour the tequila and orange juice into glass over ice.
- Add the grenadine, which will sink to the bottom.
- Gently stir to create the sunrise effect.
- Garnish with slice of orange and cherry.
The Original Tequila Sunrise by Gene Silt of the Biltmore Hotel, c~1930
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz Tequila
- .75 oz Crème de Cassis
- Fresh Lime Juice
- Lime Wedge
- Cherry
- Club Soda
- Ice
- Collins Glass
Instructions
- Fill a tall glass with cracked ice.
- Add the tequila, crème de cassis and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
- Fill with club soda.
- Garnish with a lime wedge and cherry.
Now, start slinging and party like a 70s Rock n’ Roll star.
Enjoy!
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