Ingredients
- 180 ml Orange Juice
- 15 ml Grenadine
- 10 ml Simple Syrup
- Ice
- Cherry
Instructions
- Fill a tall glass with ice.
- Pour in orange juice.
- Slowly pour grenadine down the inside of the glass.
- Do not stir.
- Garnish with an orange slice and a cherry.
Notes
Estimated Nutrition:
Where it came from
The Virgin Sunrise is the alcohol-free version of the 1970s Tequila Sunrise, which Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones popularised on tour. The mocktail strips out the tequila but keeps the build: orange juice over ice in a tall glass, with a slow pour of grenadine that sinks to the bottom and creates the signature red-orange gradient.
It sits in the layered-juice mocktail family with the Shirley Temple, the Roy Rogers and the Pomegranate Sunrise. All four lean on a juice base and a slow grenadine pour for the visual signature. The Virgin Sunrise separates itself with the unstirred build, which preserves the gradient as a plated visual rather than mixing the drink.
Best ordered at a hotel pool, a brunch service or any setting that calls for a colourful virgin drink. The build is forgiving; the technique is mostly about the slow grenadine pour and the patience to leave it unstirred.
What it tastes like
Bright orange juice up front, soft sweetness through the middle, faint cherry-pomegranate from the grenadine on the finish. The combination is friendly and approachable; the simple syrup sweetens the juice gently without taking it into syrupy territory.
Zero ABV. The drink is built to look like a cocktail and drink like a juice spritz; the unstirred grenadine layer is mostly visual but contributes a subtle sweetness shift on the last sips of the glass.
The technique
Fill a highball glass with ice. Pour one hundred eighty millilitres of orange juice over the ice. Add ten millilitres of simple syrup and stir gently. Slowly pour fifteen millilitres of grenadine down the inside of the glass; the grenadine should sink to the bottom and create the layered sunrise gradient. Do not stir. Garnish with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry on a cocktail pick.
The grenadine pour is the technique. Pour slowly over the back of a bar spoon held just inside the rim, or angle the glass and let the grenadine slide down the inside wall. The pour should take about five seconds for the cleanest layered effect. Fresh-squeezed orange juice gives the brightest flavour; bottled juice works but reads slightly duller.
Drink Buddy Exclusive
Tell us what's in your cabinet.
Our Cocktail Builder takes whatever bottles you've got and hands you every drink you can actually make tonight.
Open the Builder →Get the Drink Buddy newsletter
One drink, one tip, one Tuesday a month.
Plus the recipes we drop before they hit the site. Zero spam.
Ingredient Spotlight
The bottles that make or break this drink.
The orange juice
- Use
- Fresh-squeezed orange juice from ripe oranges.
- Skip
- From-concentrate juice or sweetened orange drink.
- Why
- Orange juice is the load-bearing flavour and the volume of the drink. Fresh-squeezed delivers the bright, clean orange profile; concentrate is duller and sweetened drinks tip the balance into syrupy territory.
The grenadine
- Use
- Real pomegranate grenadine like Rose's or homemade pomegranate syrup.
- Skip
- Cheap red food-colouring grenadine.
- Why
- Grenadine is the visual signature and the sweetness sink. Real pomegranate grenadine has a subtle cherry-pomegranate character that shows up on the last sips; cheap grenadine is just sugar and red dye.
The simple syrup
- Use
- Equal parts caster sugar and water, dissolved cold.
- Skip
- Brown sugar syrup, which adds molasses notes.
- Why
- Simple syrup rounds out any acid in the orange juice without adding a competing flavour. Brown sugar syrup pulls the drink toward a different profile that does not match the original Tequila Sunrise build.
Three Variations
Three real ways bartenders riff on this drink. Same idea, three different jackets.
The standard build
- Virgin Sunrise, layered
- One hundred eighty millilitres of orange juice over ice, ten millilitres of simple syrup stirred in, fifteen millilitres of grenadine slowly poured to settle on the bottom. Garnish with orange slice and cherry.
The pineapple build
- Pineapple Virgin Sunrise
- Replace the orange juice with one hundred eighty millilitres of pineapple juice. Adds a tropical character; the grenadine layer reads more red against the pale yellow base.
The pomegranate build
- Pomegranate Virgin Sunrise
- Replace the simple syrup with thirty millilitres of pomegranate juice. Adds a tart edge; closer to the Pomegranate Sunrise sister drink in the same family.
What if I don't have…
Quick substitutions for when the bottle shop is closed.
A small amount of pomegranate juice plus a teaspoon of sugar. Loses some of the deep red colour but keeps the flavour idea.
Skip it for a less sweet drink, or use a teaspoon of caster sugar dissolved in a small amount of warm water.
Pineapple juice or grapefruit juice, both work. Different flavour, holds the layered-mocktail visual idea.
A tall hurricane glass or a long Collins glass. Both work for a layered juice mocktail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Direct answers to what people search for after Googling this drink.
What is in a Virgin Sunrise Mocktail?
One hundred eighty millilitres of orange juice, fifteen millilitres of grenadine and ten millilitres of simple syrup over ice in a highball glass. Three components, no shake; the grenadine is poured last and slowly to create the sunrise gradient.
Where does the Tequila Sunrise come from?
The Tequila Sunrise was popularised in the 1970s on a Rolling Stones tour; the modern build was created at the Trident Bar in Sausalito, California. The Virgin Sunrise is the alcohol-free version, served as a brunch and pool-bar mocktail.
How sweet is the Virgin Sunrise?
Moderately sweet. The orange juice provides natural fruit sugar, the simple syrup adds a small lift and the grenadine adds a sweet sink at the bottom of the glass. The combination is friendly and approachable, not syrupy.
What does it taste like?
Bright orange juice up front, soft sweetness through the middle, faint cherry-pomegranate from the grenadine on the finish. The drink reads like a fresh juice spritz with a sweetness sink at the bottom.
Why does the grenadine sink?
Grenadine is denser than orange juice because of its sugar content. When poured slowly, the grenadine sinks to the bottom and forms a separate layer; this is the gradient effect that gives the drink its sunrise name.
Should I stir it?
No. The unstirred build is the visual signature of the drink. Drinkers can stir it themselves at the table to mix the grenadine through, or sip top-down for the layered flavour experience.
Can I make it ahead?
No, the mocktail is best made to order. The grenadine layer fades within fifteen minutes as the ice melts and the juice mixes; pre-made versions lose the visual signature.
What other mocktails are similar?
A Shirley Temple (lemon-lime soda, grenadine, cherry), a Roy Rogers (cola and grenadine), a Pomegranate Sunrise and a Pineapple Sunrise. All four sit in the colourful-juice mocktail family.
More Like This
More drinks in the same family when the night calls for them.
