Turn Your Sunrise Cocktail Into A Sweet And Fruity Breakfast Drink

Even if you're not imbibing, cocktails can provide great inspiration for fun, fruity, and colorful drinks that feel more special and celebratory than just a glass of juice. Just look at today's exploding field of options when it comes to creative and party-elevating summer mocktails. When you take a mixology approach to crafting an alcohol-free beverage, you end up with a delicious and complex treat. The tequila sunrise, with its orange juice base making it perfect for brunch and its beachy vibe ideal for summer, is an ideal cocktail to riff on in booze-free forms. 

A classic tequila sunrise recipe calls for tequila, orange juice, and grenadine, plus an orange slice and maraschino cherry for garnishing. As we see with the iconic Shirley Temple, the tequila sunrise incorporates both grenadine and that cherry finish, which makes some people think grenadine itself is cherry-flavored. The fruit that actually gives grenadine its distinct taste is pomegranate; its juice is cooked down into a syrup for it. 

The ingredients and flavors right here are an easy start for crafting booze-free iterations of the tequila sunrise. Nod to the cherry garnish by swapping out the tipple's 2 ounces of tequila for cherry juice, which will offer a sweet balance for the acidic orange juice and tart pomegranate. Or, double down on pomegranate notes with pomegranate juice. Play with proportions; try using less than the recipe's 6 ounces of orange juice and instead make an even split between the cherry juice, pomegranate juice, and grenadine. 

Of course, the sky's the limit when it comes to working entirely different fruit flavors into your mocktail. You'll just want to think about mirroring the original drink's balance of acidity, tartness, and sweetness. You could swap out the orange juice for a different citrus, like grapefruit juice. Or, for a sweet partner, look to peach, mango, or guava. This is where you can play with textures, too. Instead of using all juices, blend purees to give your beverage a smoothie-adjacent feel. Mix together sweet, earthy banana and bright, tangy pineapple, and add them to orange or grapefruit juice. You can finish this with the grenadine or brighten the finished drink even more with a splash of lime juice.

The grenadine itself is another place where you can play around with flavors. It's relatively easy to make homemade grenadine. It's a 1-to-1 mixture of sugar and pomegranate juice, heated until the sugar dissolves. From there, you can add complexity with other ingredients. Use brown sugar to add warmth and depth, or split the juice component with lemon for a lighter, brighter effect. Cranberry juice would work well with pomegranate and would bring in a touch of bitterness for those with less of a sweet tooth. There are endless possibilities to experiment with ready-to-go syrups too, thanks to brands like Monin; try adding floral flair with hibiscus or a tropical twist with coconut.