ETHANOL

TEQUILA SUNRISE

Arizona Biltmore, Phoenix, ~1930s.

HIGHBALL
ETHANOL 19 G131 KCAL FROM ETHANOL7.1 OZ SERVED

SPEC

2 oz · 60 mlBLANCO TEQUILA40 %
4 oz · 120 mlORANGE JUICE
1 barspoonGRENADINE

1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.

METHOD

  1. 01BUILD TEQUILA + OJ OVER ICE IN A HIGHBALL
  2. 02SLOWLY POUR GRENADINE DOWN A BAR SPOON SO IT SETTLES TO THE BOTTOM
  3. 03DO NOT STIR. THE GRADIENT IS THE PRESENTATION
  4. 04GARNISH WITH AN ORANGE WHEEL + CHERRY

1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.

STRENGTH // WORKED

Pre-batch6.17 oz mixed with ice, 0.8 oz of it pure alcohol
MeltStirred: +15 % of the pre-batch, +0.93 oz of water
Served6.17 + 0.93 = 7.1 oz in the glass
Strength0.8 ÷ 7.1 = 11.3 % ABV as served
Ethanol0.8 oz × 29.57 ml × 0.789 g/ml = 19 g · about 131 kcal from the alcohol alone

IN THE GLASS

METHYL ANTHRANILATE

FROM TEQUILA AGAVE · the grape candy note

Formula
C₈H₉NO₂
Mass
151.16 g/mol
IUPAC
methyl 2-aminobenzoate

The grape-candy / Welch's-grape-juice aroma. Concord grapes carry it in concentrations no European wine grape (Vitis vinifera) approaches; American Vitis labrusca grapes, native to the northeastern US, hold methyl anthranilate as a signature. The "foxy" note in North American grape juice and artificial grape candy both come from the same molecule. Also used as the standard bird repellent on commercial fruit crops; birds find it intolerable.

PUBCHEM ↗

ALSO IN Ramos Gin Fizz · Hurricane · Singapore Sling · Mary Pickford · Royal Hawaiian · Bahama Mama · Paloma · Picante

D-LIMONENE

FROM ORANGE JUICE · citrus peel oil

Formula
C₁₀H₁₆
Mass
136.24 g/mol
IUPAC
(4R)-1-methyl-4-prop-1-en-2-ylcyclohexene

An orange rind, squeezed, throws a spray that catches the light. That's d-limonene boiling off. It's roughly 95% of orange peel oil by mass, and the molecule that puts the "orange" in orange anything. Used industrially as a green solvent because the chemistry that dissolves citrus oils also dissolves greasy machinery. The expressed-peel garnish on a cocktail is delivering vaporized limonene to the rim of the glass.

PUBCHEM ↗

ALSO IN Old Fashioned · Martini · Margarita · Gin & Tonic · Cosmopolitan · Mai Tai · Piña Colada · Hemingway Daiquiri

CHEMISTRY

Tequila, orange juice and a grenadine gradient. The layered visual is the point: denser grenadine sinks to the bottom, the tequila and orange juice, built together, sit above it. Each sip starts bright citrus and ends pomegranate-dark.

PROVENANCE

Origin disputed between Arizona and California. The Phoenix version is older by its own account: the Arizona Biltmore credits bartender Gene Sulit with a late-1930s recipe of tequila, crème de cassis, lime and soda; the modern OJ-grenadine version appeared in the early 1970s at the Trident in Sausalito. The Rolling Stones' 1972 American tour was known as the 'Cocaine and Tequila Sunrise tour'. Mick Jagger reportedly drank dozens of them. The drink crashed in cultural standing through the 1980s as a 'too sweet' fern-bar pour.

AGAVE // NEARBY

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