Drink of the Week: Tequila Sunrise

I thought a Tequila Sunrise was an appropriate drink this week since the sun has set on my Calgary winter and I am in Arizona looking forward to many desert sunrises (well, four of them, anyway). And for some reason, to me, nothing says parched earth and saguaro cacti quite like tequila (the Sonoran Desert, after all, extends from Mexico north to Arizona).

Pretty and potent, just like the Sonoran Desert.

A Tequila Sunrise won’t knock your socks off, but with a generous tequila pour, it gets the job done. And let it be known my week has been particularly trying, what with three deadlines in three days and a sick six-year-old at home for two of those days. So I can use a stiff drink, but one that’s entirely drinkable, and O.J. mixed with tequila is definitely that.

I modified my recipe from GroupRecipes and used pomegranate juice instead of grenadine, which makes it a bit tart and more ruby-hued than pink. I hope you enjoy one tonight — or tomorrow, at sunrise. Me? I’ll be down at the cantina, knocking one back, followed by a prickly pear margarita.

Tequila Sunrise

• 2 oz tequila
• 3 oz fresh-squeezed orange juice
• 3/4 oz pomegranate juice (or grenadine syrup)

Shake the tequila and orange juice with ice and then strain into an ice-filled glass. Pour the pomegranate juice in along the glass’s edge, so it bleeds down the side. Garnish with an orange wedge.

— Recipe modified from GroupRecipes