Kitchn Love Letters

The “Corona Sunrise” Is the 4-Ingredient Cocktail Hack I Make All Summer (It’s So Refreshing!)

published May 24, 2024
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
person holding corona sunrise in hand while outside
Credit: Meredith Schwartz

I’m mostly a beer drinker. Give me a slice of pizza with a hazy IPA on a Friday night, and I am one happy lady. Wine, I like but can never finish a bottle in a weekend. And I have zero mixology skills — I don’t even own a cocktail shaker! It’s not that I don’t enjoy a good margarita or espresso martini, I generally just save those fancy drinks for the pros. But summer is different. 

Every once in a while on a warm evening, my husband takes down our blender to make a piña colada or lava flow. (If you know me well, you know that I really love tiki drinks.) More often though, I’m making a  Corona Sunrise for happy hour (to enjoy during the thousandth viewing of Bug’s Life with my 4- and 2-year-old). It’s a drink that went viral a couple of summers ago. You add tequila, OJ, and grenadine to a bottle of corona, and that’s it. No cocktail shakers, stirrers, blenders, or even glassware necessary (i.e., even I can make it). 

Get the recipe: Corona Sunrise

What Makes the Corona Sunrise So Good? 

Corona is a natural match for tequila. I learned this years ago from my older sister who is famous for her pitcher margaritas. Her secret: a bottle of Corona. (No, I’ve never had a Coronita, but I’m sure I’d be a big fan.) While she adds beer to her margs to cut through the taste of tequila, here I think it has the opposite effect. If you don’t typically like beer, the tequila makes the beer taste like a fruity (but not-too-sweet!) cocktail. 

To make it, you first need to take a couple big sips of the beer until you reach the top of the label. Next, you’ll add a shot of tequila and orange juice, followed by a splash of grenadine, which brings the gradient sunset look. A sliver of lime adds an extra little punch of flavor to this tropical Dirty Shirley-esque matchup. It’s easy, fun, and downright refreshing. 

Get the recipe: Corona Sunrise