Original Recipe

• Created by Gene Sulit at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in the 1940s, the original tequila sunrise had different flavors and a different appearance from its current incarnation. The cocktail was named after the way the colors mixed together, creating a likeness of a sunrise. The original tequila sunrise, now often called a vintage tequila sunrise, is relatively simple to make -- fill a collins glass with ice, then add 6 parts tequila, 2 parts lime juice, 3 parts creme de cassis, then top with club soda.

A Familiar Cocktail

• The more widely known tequila sunrise is sweeter, brighter and cheaper to make than its vintage counterpart. Concocted at the Trident Restaurant in Sausalito, California, by barkeeps Bobby Lazoff and Billy Rice, the newer tequila sunrise forgoes the more costly creme de cassis for grenadine, substitutes the lime juice with orange juice, and omits the club soda completely. For a quick and tasty modern tequila sunrise, pour 4 parts tequila, 8 parts orange juice and 1 part grenadine into a highball or collins glass filled with ice.

Pineapple Sunrise

• Substituting pineapple juice in either type of tequila sunrise will sweeten the drink -- too much, if you're not careful. For a good vintage tequila sunrise with pineapple juice, substitute pineapple for only half of the lime juice. For the modern and more familiar tequila sunrise, substitute all of the orange juice with pineapple juice, but pour only half of the grenadine to keep the drink from tasting too sugary.

Slight Variations

• A twist on the orange juice and grenadine tequila sunrise is to mix the pineapple juice with the orange juice. This cocktail, named the Florida sunrise, substitutes half of the needed orange juice with pineapple juice. The drink is only slightly sweeter and has only a slightly altered appearance -- a straight substitution creates a lighter colored drink more reminiscent of late afternoon than early morning. Another variation is to serve the drink up -- chill the tequila and pineapple juice in a cocktail shaker, strain into a martin glass, then add the grenadine.