A deliciously refreshing and easy to make cocktail that has become increasingly popular over the last few years, to the point that May 22nd has been marked as World Paloma Day. This recipe works just as well with either your favourite Tequila or Mezcal, if you prefer its smoky notes.
Ingredients
- 45 ml TEQUILA (1 part)
- 15 ml FRESH LIME JUICE (1/3 part)
- 135 ml GRAPEFRUIT SODA (3 parts)
- 1 SLICE GRAPEFRUIT
How to make it
- 1 – Rim your highball glass with salt.
- 2 – Add all liquid ingredients.
- 3 – Fill glass with ice.
- 4 – Make sure to keep space between the salt rim and the drink itself so as to not wash salt into your drink!
- 5 – Garnish and serve.
Watch this
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| Ingredient | 0 | 0 | unit |
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| Tequila | 0 | 0 | ml |
| Fresh Lime Juice | 0 | 0 | ml |
| Grapefruit Soda | 0 | 0 | ml |
| Salt | 0 | 0 | grams |
| Grapefruit slice | 0 | 0 | |
| Ice | 0 | 0 | grams |
Get nerdy with it
AGAVE SPIRIT Use Blanco / Silver Tequila or Mezcal for a smoky alternative.
GRAPEFRUIT SODA Traditionally made with Squirt, but you can use any from an array of excellent grapefruit soda options that you might prefer.
FRESH LIME JUICE If you’re just making one or two drinks, cut a lime in half and squeeze it into the glass, then discard it. If you’re making a few more for a party, squeeze and strain your lime juice ahead of schedule for speed and ease.
Why we chose this recipe for you
The Paloma (tr. Dove in Spanish), and this may surprise you, is Mexico’s (unofficial) National Cocktail. No one can be sure when it first came to be, but the general consensus is that it was originally made with Squirt grapefruit soda.
Squirt was created in the US in 1938, using less sugar and more juice, back in a time when the word ‘squirt’ could be innocently used as a name for a fruit soda, because it was like a ‘squirt’ of fresh grapefruit in your mouth! We’re not sure if you would get away with that name if you launched the brand today!
It made its way to Mexico in 1950. So, as many have pointed out before, it was probably mixed with Tequila the day it arrived, and its mere availability and success in Mexico may therefore be the most simple and likely birth of the drink.
If you can’t get a hold of grapefruit soda you can make your own using fresh grapefruit juice, sugar and sparkling water, essentially turning the drink into a grapefruit & lime Collins. We did consider listing this as the recipe for the Paloma, but we decided not to for 3 simple reasons:
- It’s not true to the drink’s origins.
- It’s more complicated…and we’re all about simple deliciousness here.
- Sometimes you just need a Cola, a Squirt or another sugary fizzy drink. You know that the organic juice squeezed by hummingbirds and mixed with unicorn tears you have in the fridge is better for you, but it’s just NOT what you want right now. Know what I mean?
As always, don’t forget to show us what you made by tagging us!
@Candra_Drinks #MakeBetterDrinks #CandraDrinks
