Happy 2024!

I welcomed the first morning of the year with a Tequila Sunrise – or, as I like to call it, Tropical Sunshine, as it is alcohol-free. It’s a sweet, zesty, citrus-y drink that looks like a beautiful beach sunrise captured in a glass.

Tequila Sunrises became wildly popular in the early 1970s, when the Rolling Stones discovered the drink on their 1972 American Tour (fondly called by Keith Richards, the “Cocaine and Tequila Sunrise Tour”). Make sense, because it’s a perfect morning-after, hair-of-the-dog drink. The drink was wildly popular and rock-n-roll during the 70s and 80s, but started to lose its luster by the goth and grunge driven 90s. The cheerful little cocktail seemed retro and naïve, and its place at boozy brunches was usurped by its twee cousin, the mimosa. In the 2000s, everyone got sophisticated and pretentious (drinking Cosmopolitans out of Manolo Blahniks) and in the 2010s we were all “up in the club sipping that bub.”

Now it’s the 2020s and sober curious is a THING.

Many Gen Xers are reconsidering their relationship with alcohol as they age and realizing alcohol may not always be serving them well (think Penn and Kim Holderness).

Younger Millennials who have seen their elders post a couple hundred too many wine memes think drinking is decidedly UNCOOL.

Add to that the multiple popular “dry” challenges each year – Dry January, Dryer Lent, Sober Spring, Sober October – and it’s easy to see why these fun retro cocktails are being made over into mocktails.

Below are my two versions of Tequila Sunrise/Tropical Sunshine. One uses a zero-proof tequila replacement recommended by Penn and Kim; one uses ingredients you can find in most grocery stores.

When making cocktails/mocktails, I’ve always mostly eyeballed the ingredients, sticking to approximate ratios, adding dashes and splashes, and adjusting to suit my personal liking. YOU CAN LEARN TO DO THE SAME. So, please read the recipe and tips all the way through before beginning. I’ve also included photos to help illustrate the process.

THE FIRST RULE OF MOCKTAILS: IF YOU CAN CHUG A MOCKTAIL, IT’S NOT A MOCKTAIL.

You Will Need:

• A Tall, Clear Glass
• Ice
• Ritual Zero Proof Tequila Alternative OR Ginger Beer (NOT ginger ale)
• Orange Juice
• Rose’s Grenadine Syrup
• Fresh Lime
• Fresh Orange
• Cherries – Fresh, Frozen, or Maraschino

Directions:

Use a tall, clear glass to show off the bright colors and layers. Highball glasses are traditional, but use whatever you have. Here, I used water goblets.

Fill the glasses halfway with ice. I like small cubes, not crushed.

If using a tequila alternative, add one shot glass (left glass). Depending on the size of your glass, you may wish to add an additional splash later.

If using a ginger beer (NOT ginger ale), fill glass halfway (right glass).

Finish filling the glass with orange juice.

Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice and lightly stir. (Lime is optional, but helps build a complexity of flavors. It also prevents the grenadine from making the drink too sweet.)

Now the fun part! Add the grenadine (pomegranate syrup) by pouring as slowly as possible over the back of a spoon. This helps “spread out” the tint. It’s very sweet, so you’ll want about a tablespoon if using a tequila alternative to smooth out the taste. With ginger beer, you’ll use less as you’re adding it more for color than sweetness.

The heaviness of the grenadine syrup means it will sink to the bottom of the glass and tint your drink only a couple of inches. DO NOT STIR OR THE COLOR LAYERING WILL BE LOST.

Garnish with a slice of orange. Drop in a few cherries (I prefer fresh or frozen).

Enjoy!

Notes:

If using a tequila alternative, be aware that it does not taste exactly like tequila – i.e., you wouldn’t want to do shots with it. But once mixed, especially with citrus, it’s hard to tell the difference from the “real thing.” It has that familiar mouth warming sensation and that alcohol “bite.” The smell is also dead on.

If using ginger beer (my favorite way, actually) be sure you use ginger beer and not ginger ale. Ginger ale is far too sweet and weak – it is like watering down your orange juice. A ginger beer (I like Q brand) will be less sweet, have a much stronger ginger taste, and provide that “bite.” (Despite the name, most ginger beers are just very strong ginger ales with no alcohol at all.)

Check your orange juice label – some brands are fortified with non-vegan Vitamin D or “heart healthy” fish oils.

Check your maraschino cherry ingredients to make sure there is no carmine, a once common ingredient used to color cherries.

To Complete Your Experience:

Stream the album the Rolling Stones were promoting on their Cocaine & Tequila Sunrise tour, Exile On Main Street.

Fun fact: Keith Richards stopped drinking almost completely in 2019, which makes him one of the sober curious. Perhaps he’d enjoy this version of his beloved 70’s cocktail.

Here’s to 2024! Cheers!