Paloma Recipe
The Paloma is Mexico's most refreshing cocktail: blanco tequila, fresh-squeezed grapefruit, and lime over ice with a salty rim. Bright, tart, and lightly bitter, it drinks easier than a margarita and rewards good tequila.
Ingredients
- 2 ozblanco tequila
- 3 ozfresh pink grapefruit juice
- 0.5 ozfresh lime juice
- 0.5 ozsimple syrup (adjust to grapefruit sweetness)
- 2 ozclub soda, chilled
- 1 pinchflaky sea salt (for the rim)
Garnish
- Grapefruit wheel
- Lime wedge
- Coarse salt rim
Equipment: Highball glass, cocktail shaker, jigger, citrus juicer, fine strainer, bar spoon
Method
- Run a lime wedge around the rim of a highball glass and dip the rim in flaky sea salt. Fill the glass with fresh ice and set aside.
- Combine the blanco tequila, fresh pink grapefruit juice, fresh lime juice, and simple syrup in a shaker filled with ice.
- Shake hard for 10 to 12 seconds until the tin is frosty and well chilled.
- Strain into the prepared highball glass over fresh ice, top with the chilled club soda, and stir gently once to lift the citrus.
- Garnish with a grapefruit wheel and a lime wedge, and serve immediately.
About the Paloma
The Paloma is often called Mexico’s national cocktail, and its roots reach back to the 1950s, when a Texas bartender reportedly built a drink around grapefruit soda and tequila. The name means “dove” in Spanish, and the modern version leans on fresh grapefruit juice rather than a bottled soda, which keeps the drink tart and dry instead of candy sweet. In Mexico it is a daytime drink, poured long over ice and sipped slowly.
To nail it, use a 100 percent agave blanco tequila so the vegetal pepper notes can stand up to the grapefruit’s bitterness. Squeeze the grapefruit and lime to order, taste before you sweeten, and add simple syrup only as needed since Ruby Red and Pink varieties vary in sugar. Top with cold club soda at the last moment for lift, and salt only the rim, not the drink, so the first sip is bright and the finish stays clean.
- Use 100 percent agave blanco tequila, not a mixto, for a cleaner agave finish.
- Taste your grapefruit juice first: sweet Ruby Red needs less syrup than tart Pink.
- Salt half the rim so guests can choose a salty or unsalted sip.
- Keep the club soda ice cold and add it last to protect the carbonation.
