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Here are all the best grenadine cocktails that use this bright red syrup! Try everything from classic cocktails to modern grenadine drinks.

Grenadine syrup

Got a bottle of grenadine on hand? There are so many grenadine drinks made with this brilliant red syrup! Grenadine is often mistaken for cherry syrup, but it’s actually made from pomegranate juice. Its name is derived from the French word for pomegranate, grenade. Grenadine tastes fruity and sweet, and adds a bright red color to every drink it touches.

Here are all the best grenadine cocktails using this sweet syrup! There are classics like the vibrant Tequila Sunrise and sophisticated Cuban El Presidente…and of course no list would be complete without the most famous mocktail of them all, the Shirley Temple. Let’s get mixing!

And now…the top grenadine cocktails and drinks!

Try homemade grenadine!

When you shop for the main ingredient for these grenadine drinks, look for all natural grenadine if you can. Grenadine is often made with artificial colors and flavors: many times it’s not even made of pomegranate! Another option is to make grenadine at home. How to do it? Use fresh pomegranate juice! This results in a brilliant hot pink color that’s naturally made from scratch. Here are the basic steps for how to make grenadine syrup:

  • Mash fresh pomegranate seeds in a cocktail shaker to extract the juice. Then use a fine-mesh strainer to strain out the juice. Easy as that!
  • Heat pomegranate juice and sugar in a saucepan. Heat 2/3 cup juice with ½ cup sugar until the sugar just dissolves, 1 to 2 minutes. Cool, then add 1 teaspoon lemon juice to add tart flavor.

Want more? Go to How to Make Grenadine and Best Grenadine Substitute.

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Tequila sunrise

Tequila Sunrise (& More Grenadine Drinks!)


  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 1 drink 1x

Description

Here’s how to make a tequila sunrise! This vibrant grenadine cocktail layers the colors of a summer sunrise using tequila, orange and grenadine.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) tequila
  • 4 ounces (½ cup) orange juice
  • ¾ ounce (1 ½ tablespoons) grenadine syrup (purchased or homemade)
  • Ice (try our clear ice!)
  • For the garnish: Cocktail cherry, orange juice

Instructions

  1. Fill a highball glass with ice. Pour in the tequila and orange juice and stir.
  2. Pour the grenadine into center of the drink and it will sink to the bottom. Stir gently for sunrise gradient effect.
  3. Garnish with an orange slice and cocktail cherry.
  • Category: Drink
  • Method: Stirred
  • Cuisine: Cocktails
  • Diet: Vegan

Keywords: Grenadine cocktails

Last updated: November 2020

About the authors

Sonja & Alex

Meet Sonja and Alex Overhiser: Husband and wife. Expert home cooks. Authors of recipes you’ll want to make again and again.

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3 Comments

  1. I am looking for a recipe that my Aunt would make with water, sugar, grenadine and 180 proof Vodka. She added maraschino cherries. I know what was in it just not the amounts of each ingredient. She called it Red Eye. One could only sip this drink due to the Vodka. It is not the Red Eye I could find during a search. That Red Eye is called the Wedding Drink. Not the same. Any help would be very appreciated. Thank you.