Tequila sunrise

The official recipe is the IBA's, the International Bartenders Association. It lists the tequila sunrise among the Contemporary Classics and names three ingredients: 45 ml tequila, 90 ml fresh orange juice and 15 ml grenadine syrup. The ratio is therefore one part tequila to two parts juice.

You build the cocktail directly in a highball glass full of ice. First the tequila and the orange juice go in. The grenadine comes last and is not stirred. That creates the red layer at the bottom that slowly flows into orange, the image of a sunrise that gives the drink its name. As garnish the IBA names half a slice of orange or an orange zest.

Both are fine. The IBA only prescribes "tequila" and does not fix a type. The choice lies in the difference between the two types, and in Mexico that difference is regulated by law in the standard NOM-006-SCFI-2012.

A blanco, also called plata or silver, is a clear tequila that has not been in oak barrels, or for less than two months. A reposado has, under the same standard, matured for at least two months in direct contact with oak cask wood.

In its version of the tequila sunrise, Difford's Guide uses a reposado of 100 percent agave. Anyone following the IBA recipe is free to choose. Look at the label: "100% agave" means that all the sugars come from the agave. With ordinary tequila that is at least 51 percent.

That is grenadine. Grenadine is a red syrup that was originally made from pomegranate juice and sugar. The name probably comes from the French word grenade, which means pomegranate. According to the drinks magazine Punch, cocktail historians think the syrup also first became popular in France.

Much of the grenadine you come across now no longer contains pomegranate but sugar syrup and colouring. Anyone who wants the original form therefore looks at the ingredients list on the bottle. In the tequila sunrise, grenadine does two things: it gives sweetness and, because it is heavier than orange juice, it sinks to the bottom of the glass. That is where the red layer comes from.

The tequila sunrise exists in two versions. According to Difford's Guide, the first was served around 1930 at the Agua Caliente resort in Tijuana, Mexico. The 1933 book Hollywood Cocktails gives that recipe with tequila, lime, grenadine, crème de cassis and sparkling water, still without orange juice.

Difford's Guide calls the story that the cocktail was invented at the Arizona Biltmore in the 1940s unproven: the guide found nothing about it from before the 2000s.

The version with orange juice dates from 1970. Bobby Lozoff made it as a young bartender at the Trident in Sausalito, California. The recipe later ended up on the back label of Jose Cuervo, and in 1973 the Eagles released their song Tequila Sunrise.

Tequila is a protected designation of origin of Mexico. The spirit may only be called that if it is made in the area of the denominación de origen. That area includes municipalities in the states of Jalisco, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit and Tamaulipas.

Tequila is made from blue agave. The Mexican standard NOM-006-SCFI-2012 sets out how much agave must be in it and how the types blanco, reposado and further aged tequila differ. The Consejo Regulador del Tequila checks that producers comply with that standard. For a tequila sunrise that matters: even in a cocktail with juice and syrup you are drinking a tequila with a defined origin.

At ’t Bockje there are now 37 bottles of tequila blanco and reposado, both suitable for this recipe. Among the blancos are Clase Azul Plata, Casa Don Ramón Punta Diamante Silver, Casamigos Blanco and Cazadores Blanco.

If you prefer to use a reposado, as in the Difford's Guide version, you will find for example Casa Don Ramón Punta Diamante Reposado and Casamigos Reposado. That way you can make the same cocktail with blanco and with reposado side by side and experience the difference for yourself.

Not sure which bottle fits your plan best? Feel free to call or drop by ’t Bockje at Brink 2 in Bathmen. We are happy to think along with you.

The shop is at Brink 2 in Bathmen. Open Tuesday to Friday from 09.00 to 18.00 and Saturday from 09.00 to 17.00. For advice, call 0570 541 278 or email info@bockje.nl.