What is Tequila Sunrise and Tequila Sunset?

Many connoisseurs of cocktails adore the sunny, invigorating Tequila Sunrise. This drink is usually served in a tall glass with a volume of 150-400 milliliters with large pieces of ice. In such a cocktail a sufficiently high alcohol content, its strength is 11.4%.

This unusual drink began to gain popularity in the 70s of the last century. The history of the Tequila Sunrise cocktail was promoted by the American famous Rolling Stones, which often chose this amazing mixture during their tours around the world.

Tequila Sunrise consists of tequila, orange juice and grenadine (pomegranate syrup). Tequila is a traditional strong Mexican drink, which is made from agave and has been in high demand since the 16th century. Grenadine is called a thick pomegranate syrup, giving the cocktails a vivid color and used as a sweetener.

Cocktail Tequila Sunrise can be prepared by mixing all of the above ingredients. Grenadine is added to the drink last. The ratio of tequila, pomegranate juice and grenadine is usually 3: 6: 1. In each portion of the cocktail, 5-6 ice cubes are added. A few drops of grenadine make Tequila Sunrise's drink similar to sunrise. It is this unusual color scheme that a cocktail owes its name.

Inventive bartenders have come up with an alternative version of the Tequila Sunrise drink - Tequila Sunset cocktail, which means sunset. The main components of this masterpiece remain the same - tequila and orange juice. However, instead of the grenadine, the barman uses blueberry brandy.

To prepare Tequila Sunset, place a layer of ice on the bottom of the glass. Then tequila and orange juice is poured there, in the end, a little bit of blueberry brandy is added. He must gently drain to the very bottom of the glass, thereby depicting the sunset. Serve a cocktail of Tequila Sunset in a tall glass with a cherry or a slice of orange.

Of course, the main secret of these two cocktails in combination tequila and orange juice. The origin of orange juice we all know, but what do we know about tequila?

Many believe that tequila is made from cactus. This is one of the most common misconceptions. An invigorating alcoholic beverage is made from agave, which belongs to the family of lily. There are more than 300 plant species worldwide, however, only one species - blue agave - is suitable for obtaining tequila.

The production of tequila is a very complicated and time-consuming process. Agave plantations can exist only in Mexico, and they need to be looked after for at least 8 years to make such a drink. Therefore, tequila can only be produced in Mexico, it is not prepared in any other place on the globe.

Each tequila is made according to an individual recipe. Different variants of this drink differ in the percentage of alcohol of agave (from 50% to 100%), in age and taste.

In tequila there is a different content of fusel oils, but a light herbal shade successfully masks them. Tequila "hits the head" much faster than vodka, so it is almost not drunk separately. However, this drink is ideal for creating a variety of strong cocktails, it is well connected with ordinary juice.

They say that there is never a hangover from tequila. This can be explained by the fact that a person has quite a small amount of such an alcoholic beverage. However, if you get to drink a lot of tequila at once - a hangover will be guaranteed.

The most popular are silver and gold tequila.

Silver - pure invigorating tequila without impurities, which could not stand a second. It immediately bottles, yielding to the more expensive types of this drink in the fortress.

The golden tequila is also not aged, but caramel is added to it, which makes this drink easier to drink and seems more interesting to taste.

But today in shops you can see the most valuable types of tequila with the maximum content of agave alcohol and with a sufficiently long exposure. These beverages will need to be used, but pampered Mexicans choose only expensive elite tequila, leaving the gold and silver to the unsophisticated Europeans.