The problem? Most red liquids sink to the bottom in cocktails. Grenadine and fruit syrups are heavy with sugars and won’t float atop lighter juices and alcohol. We tried a handful of different fruit juices, but they were still too heavy and sank. It wasn’t until we thought to mix a bit of alcohol into the juice that we saw any improvement. We finally found true success by mixing 100% cranberry juice with a small amount of tequila.

So after much trial and error, we present to you, The Scarif Sunrise!

Scarif Sunset [serves 1]

1/2 ounces melon liqueur, such as Midori
3 ounces fresh orange juice
2 ounces tequila
1/4 ounce 100% cranberry juice

Pour the melon liqueur into a goblet or wine glass. Combine the orange juice and 1-1/4 ounces of the tequila in a shaker with ice and shake well. Carefully pour this mix over the melon liqueur. Combine the remaining 3/4 ounce of tequila and the cranberry juice in a small glass. Carefully pour this mixture on top of the drink.

We highly recommend squeezing your own orange juice for this drink. It takes more time and adds a few extra items to be cleaned, but we feel that it’s worth it. With so few ingredients the quality of the orange juice really shines through. We found the cara cara variety to be our favorite, but any variety will do.