One of today's StartSampling recipes is for a Tequila Sunrise. I've been told I make a fantastic Tequila Sunrise and I wanted to chime in on the comments section and tell them there are a few basic secrets for making the perfect Sunrise.
1. Always use a good tequila. That ten dollar bottle might fit your budget, but it has no place in a tasty Tequila Sunrise. You can't do wrong using Jose Quervo (I prefer white for most tequila based mixed drinks over the gold/aged, but it's a matter of taste. Cheap tequila uses food coloring. ) A few dollars can be saved by purchasing Sauza (look for the rooster on the back of the front label). Expect to pay $20-25 for a 750ml or liter of decent tequila; $50+ for premium. Patrón and Herradura are two brands I prefer in that price range, but even more expensive tequilas can cost over a hundred dollars a bottle, even two, three hundred. Spending THAT much money on booze seems obscene to me, though.
2. The recipe at StartSampling calls for one oz. of tequila and that might be the way to go if you're using cheap liquor; less nasty flavor in the mix and you won't taste it as much. OTOH, your taste buds will numb out on that rotgut, so it won't matter after a couple of swallows.
For the size glass (highball) that's illustrated, an oz. and a half of GOOD tequila would be the minimum. Good tequila is smooooooooooth. I never used a jigger anyway.
3. Don't stir. Repeat: Don't stir. The only way to have layers of color like a sunrise is to NOT STIR. Fill the glass w/ ice, pour in the tequila, then drizzle the grenadine over the ice. Some recipes call for the grenadine (which is pomegranite syrup and very good on grapefruit for breakfast or dessert) THEN the tequila, but I think it mixes better with the tequila poured first. Add orange juice to fill.(also, buy a good brand of o.j.; I prefer unsweetened because of the sweetness of the grenadine is enough)
4. They taste best when getting off of morning tour on a drilling rig, the frigid night shift behind you, wanting a drink to chase the chill out of your bones.
Then kick back and watch the beautiful Panhandle morning sky light up as you listen to The Eagles.
Yep, a couple of my Tequila Sunrises and the morning doesn't look so blue.
1. Always use a good tequila. That ten dollar bottle might fit your budget, but it has no place in a tasty Tequila Sunrise. You can't do wrong using Jose Quervo (I prefer white for most tequila based mixed drinks over the gold/aged, but it's a matter of taste. Cheap tequila uses food coloring. ) A few dollars can be saved by purchasing Sauza (look for the rooster on the back of the front label). Expect to pay $20-25 for a 750ml or liter of decent tequila; $50+ for premium. Patrón and Herradura are two brands I prefer in that price range, but even more expensive tequilas can cost over a hundred dollars a bottle, even two, three hundred. Spending THAT much money on booze seems obscene to me, though.
2. The recipe at StartSampling calls for one oz. of tequila and that might be the way to go if you're using cheap liquor; less nasty flavor in the mix and you won't taste it as much. OTOH, your taste buds will numb out on that rotgut, so it won't matter after a couple of swallows.
For the size glass (highball) that's illustrated, an oz. and a half of GOOD tequila would be the minimum. Good tequila is smooooooooooth. I never used a jigger anyway.
3. Don't stir. Repeat: Don't stir. The only way to have layers of color like a sunrise is to NOT STIR. Fill the glass w/ ice, pour in the tequila, then drizzle the grenadine over the ice. Some recipes call for the grenadine (which is pomegranite syrup and very good on grapefruit for breakfast or dessert) THEN the tequila, but I think it mixes better with the tequila poured first. Add orange juice to fill.(also, buy a good brand of o.j.; I prefer unsweetened because of the sweetness of the grenadine is enough)
4. They taste best when getting off of morning tour on a drilling rig, the frigid night shift behind you, wanting a drink to chase the chill out of your bones.
Then kick back and watch the beautiful Panhandle morning sky light up as you listen to The Eagles.
Yep, a couple of my Tequila Sunrises and the morning doesn't look so blue.
6 comments:
Never new the difference between gold and regular tequila. I got rather attached to 1800 brand, gold, for my margaritas this past summer.
Yes, that's a good brand of tequila and I'd call that a "premium" brand. (and I think you're talking about the Cuervo 1800, right?) It's one of Curevo's higher end products.
In higher end tequilas, the gold coloring comes from the aging process but in the very cheap tequilas it's food coloring.
The last time elle was here, she and I were staying at the hotel where my nephew worked and I picked up one of the hotel chain's monthly magazines and read an article about how the agave crop was affected by some sort of blight, might've been an unusual freeze, but anyway....it was easy to see that tequila prices would soon go up. She and I bought a few bottles, drank one up making margaritas and I still have the other.
The prices DID go up; I can't recall the name, but one tequila that many bars used as their regular (not call) drinks was around nine bucks retail, sometimes a little less. The last time I was in the liquor store, it was nearly 19 bucks.
Cuervo, which used to go for around 12 bucks/fifth, is about double that now.
As I said in the post, Sauza is a good choice for an "inexpensive" tequila and they too have a premium entry, their "Commerative" (or something like that, it's been a long time since I worked in a liquor store)
My own rule-of-thumb on liquor is if I wouldn't want to drink it straight, I wouldn't care to mix it. Then again, I very seldom drink and a bottle of nice liquor will last me a long, long time.
Thanks for posting!
Your tequila sunrise post made me thirsty...you know how much I love my tequila. Straight up with lime and salt, tequila sunrise, margarita (frozen) or any other drink that uses tequila. I like Cuervo, but hand me a drink with any kind of tequila and I'll be willing to try it. I haven't bought any for a while. I'm sure I'd be in for sticker shock.
Women talking about how much they like tequila makes me nervous.
Women who drink tequila can be dangerous.
Only when we're doing shots!
Sharon, elle and I were in a shopping mall bar drinking some margaritas; I was very thirsty, in the mood to drink and drank more than I should've. I went over to the bartender, asked her to substitute a better tequila and also asked to make them a little bit stronger. elle jumped up after about a drink and a half and Sharon and I thought she was rushing to the bathroom, but no, she made a few laps around the pool table and came back and plopped back down, saying:
"I only wanted to see if I could still walk."
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