Tequila Sunset vs Sunrise: Are They the Same

A Tequila Sunrise is tequila and orange juice over ice with grenadine poured in last, so it sinks and leaves a red layer at the bottom of the glass. It has an official recipe, kept by the International Bartenders Association. A Tequila Sunset is the same idea with a different colored layer, usually blackberry brandy, crème de cassis or Chambord, and sometimes a different juice, so the glass shades from light at the top to dark at the bottom. It has no official recipe at all; every source gives a different one. Here are both drinks with their specs, why the layers form, the two separate histories behind the Sunrise, which tequila class the recipes call for, and how many standard drinks and calories each glass holds.

Last verified September 13, 2026. The Tequila Sunrise specification is from the IBA; Sunset recipes are from the sources named for each; the layering physics from a density database and cocktail references; tequila rules from NOM-006-SCFI-2012 and 27 CFR 5.148; history from the Los Angeles Times, Difford’s Guide and Wikipedia’s cited sources; standard drinks from NIAAA; calories from USDA FoodData Central and producer nutrition labels. Full list at the end.

Tequila Sunrise: the official recipe

The IBA lists the Tequila Sunrise among its Contemporary Classics, and the specification is short.

• 45 mL (1.5 oz) tequila
• 90 mL (3 oz) fresh orange juice
• 15 mL (0.5 oz) grenadine syrup

The IBA method, verbatim: “Pour tequila and orange juice directly into highball glass filled with ice cubes. Add the grenadine syrup to create chromatic effect (sunrise), do not stir.” Garnish with half an orange slice or an orange zest. The IBA does not specify a class of tequila (blanco, reposado) or whether it should be 100 percent agave; that is up to you. Most home recipes use 2 oz of tequila and 4 oz of juice, which keeps the same 1:2 ratio and makes a fuller glass.

Tequila Sunset: no standard recipe

There is no IBA entry for a Tequila Sunset and no entry in Difford’s Guide, and no source we checked records who first made one or when. What the versions share is the Sunrise base with a darker layer, so the drink shades from light to dark instead of from orange to bright red. The common versions:

Our version, for the record: fill a highball with ice, add 2 oz blanco tequila and 4 oz orange juice, then pour 0.5 oz blackberry brandy or crème de cassis slowly down the inside of the glass so it settles under the juice. Do not stir. If you want a Sunset that stays closer to the Sunrise, Altos’s grenadine version with grapefruit juice does it with a different juice rather than a different liqueur.

Why the layers form

Grenadine sinks because it is dense, not because of anything to do with alcohol; it contains none. A syrup carries far more dissolved sugar than juice or spirit, and sugar raises density while alcohol lowers it. Grenadine has a specific gravity of roughly 1.18 (water is 1.00), orange juice about 1.04, and a 40 percent spirit about 0.94, which is why a shot of tequila floats on juice and a shot of syrup falls through it. Poured last over the ice, the grenadine slides down through the juice and pools at the bottom, and the drink is left unstirred so it stays there. A liqueur such as crème de cassis sinks for the same reason, sugar, though less sharply because its alcohol pulls the density back up, which is why a Sunset’s layer tends to blend more than a Sunrise’s.

What is actually in grenadine

The word comes from the French grenade, pomegranate, and the original syrup was pomegranate juice, sugar and water. The big US brands are not pomegranate-based. Rose’s Grenadine lists high fructose corn syrup, water, citric acid, sodium citrate, sodium benzoate, Red 40, natural and artificial flavors and Blue 1, at 80 calories and 20 g of added sugar per 2 tablespoons. Monin’s US grenadine lists pure cane sugar, water, natural flavors, citric acid and vegetable juice for color, at 90 calories and 23 g of added sugar per fluid ounce. Neither lists pomegranate. If you want the original, look for a grenadine that names pomegranate juice on the label, or make it yourself from pomegranate juice and sugar.

Where the Tequila Sunrise came from

There are two drinks in the history and they share only the name.

Sources differ on the exact Sausalito year (Difford’s says 1970; others say the early 1970s), and on Sulit’s dates, but the 1972 Stones party is consistent across all of them. Lozoff’s death was reported by the Los Angeles Times, which credited him with the drink.

Which tequila to use

The IBA does not say. Altos’s Sunset specifies Plata (blanco); Difford’s Sunrise uses reposado; our recipe and most home recipes use blanco. The classes are defined in Mexico’s tequila standard, NOM-006-SCFI-2012, by time in oak, and the difference in a mixed drink is how much barrel character sits behind the juice.

Two label facts that matter more than the class. Tequila comes in two categories: “100% de agave,” where all the fermentable sugars come from blue agave, and “Tequila,” where at least 51 percent do and up to 49 percent may come from other sugars. Both must be made from Agave tequilana Weber blue variety grown in the appellation area (Jalisco and designated municipalities in Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit and Tamaulipas), and the NOM allows a range of 35 to 55 percent alcohol. In the US, 27 CFR 5.148 recognizes tequila as a distinctive product of Mexico and requires a minimum of 40 percent when it is bottled for sale here. Our guide to tequila types goes through the categories in detail.

Standard drinks and calories

NIAAA defines a standard drink as 0.6 fl oz (14 g) of pure alcohol. Orange juice and grenadine add none, so the count comes from the tequila and, in a Sunset, the liqueur. The formula is (fluid ounces x ABV) / 0.6. Calories use USDA FoodData Central’s entry for 80 proof spirits (FDC 174815, 64 calories per fl oz) and raw orange juice (FDC 169098, 45 calories and 8.4 g sugar per 100 g), plus the grenadine makers’ own labels.

The math for the IBA serve: 45 mL of tequila at 40 percent is 18 mL of ethanol, 14.2 g, which is one standard drink almost exactly. At 38 percent, a strength some bottlings use, it comes to 0.96. The liqueur in a Sunset is what pushes it past one; blackberry brandy and cassis vary in strength by brand, so check the bottle.

Frequently asked questions

Is a Tequila Sunset the same as a Tequila Sunrise? No. Both are tequila and orange juice with a layer that sinks, but the Sunrise uses grenadine and has an official IBA recipe; the Sunset uses a dark fruit liqueur (or a different juice) and has no standard recipe.

What is in a Tequila Sunrise? Per the IBA: 45 mL tequila, 90 mL fresh orange juice and 15 mL grenadine, built over ice in a highball and not stirred.

Why does the grenadine sink? Sugar. Grenadine’s density is about 1.18 times water; orange juice is about 1.04; tequila is about 0.94. Dense liquids fall through lighter ones.

What tequila goes in a Tequila Sunrise? The IBA does not specify. Most recipes use blanco; Difford’s uses reposado. Any class works, and the drink is built the same way.

How many standard drinks is a Tequila Sunrise? One, at the IBA spec of 45 mL tequila at 40 percent. A 2 oz pour is 1.3.

Is grenadine made from pomegranate? Originally, yes. The major US brands, Rose’s and Monin, list no pomegranate; they are sugar or corn syrup, water, acid, color and flavor.

Who invented the Tequila Sunrise? The name dates to Gene Sulit at the Arizona Biltmore in the 1930s or 40s, for a drink of tequila, cassis, lime and soda. The orange juice and grenadine version is credited to Bobby Lozoff and Billy Rice at The Trident in Sausalito in the early 1970s.

Sources

• IBA, Tequila Sunrise (Contemporary Classics), checked September 13, 2026
• Mix That Drink, Tequila Sunset, Tasting Table, Elevated Tequila Sunset and Altos Tequila, Tequila Sunset, checked September 13, 2026
• Difford’s Guide, Tequila Sunrise (recipe and history), checked September 13, 2026
• Los Angeles Times (via AOL), The Sausalito bartender who created the Tequila Sunrise has died and Wikipedia, Tequila sunrise (Biltmore, Trident, Rolling Stones, Eagles and Cuervo citations), checked September 13, 2026
• Tasting Table, The scientific reason grenadine sinks, Shaken-Up, specific gravity table, orange juice density (FAO/INFOODS density database) and Diageo thebar.com, why specific gravity matters in layered drinks, checked September 13, 2026
• Rose’s Grenadine ingredient and nutrition sheet, Monin US, Grenadine syrup and Wikipedia, Grenadine (etymology and history), checked September 13, 2026
• NOM-006-SCFI-2012, English translation hosted by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila and 27 CFR 5.148, Agave spirits (eCFR), checked September 13, 2026
• NIAAA, What is a standard drink, checked September 13, 2026
• USDA FoodData Central, distilled spirits 80 proof (FDC 174815) and orange juice, raw (FDC 169098), checked September 13, 2026

Saucey delivers tequila, juice and grenadine in as fast as 25 mins in the cities we serve. For more tequila drinks, see the Margarita, and for the raspberry liqueur some Sunsets use, What Is Chambord?

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