This post may contain affiliate links. See my privacy policy for details.
The Paloma cocktail is a tequila based drink (like my delicious Tequila Sunrise) that merges the popular spirit with grapefruit soda (such as Fresca) for a light and refreshing cocktail.
It also helps if you have a nice glass to serve these in. I tend to pick up most of of mine at thrift stores; you’ll find tons of beautiful glasses there if you go often enough.
How to Make a Paloma
To make the Paloma Cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- grapefruit juice
- silver tequila
- grapefruit soda (such as Fresca or Jarritos).
- salt or sea salt (for the rim)
Salting the Rim
First, you need to salt the rim. There are plenty of ways to do this but the one I find that works the best is to use a little bit of honey on your finger and run it along the edge of the glass. Pour some salt onto a plate, then dip the glass into the salt (I prefer to use sea salt myself).
Preparing the Paloma Cocktail
Combine the grapefruit juice and tequila in a shaker and shake until cold. Pour into a glass with ice and float with the grapefruit soda.
Garnishing the Paloma Cocktail
When it comes to garnishing, you can get as creative as you want. The most common garnish however is simple a slice of grapefruit or a twist.
Whenever you are making fruit based drinks, I always recommend using fresh fruit whenever possible and a manual juicer (not the machine) – I’m talking about the ones that you juice half a fruit on.
What does Paloma Mean?
The word Paloma simply means Dove in Spanish. How the drink itself received the name, I’m not sure but that’s what it means.
Give the drink a try and let me know what you think. I’m personally a fan of following this recipe as I’ve included a bit of fresh grapefruit juice which you don’t see in most recipes. I think it makes it taste better myself but if you prefer, you can always exclude it.
Cheers!
Mike
PIN THIS RECIPE to your COCKTAIL RECIPES Board and Remember to FOLLOW US ON PINTEREST!
Paloma Cocktail
Ingredients
- 2 ounces tequila silver
- 1 ounce grapefruit juice freshly squeezed
- 4 ounces fresca add or reduce amounts to taste
Instructions
- Salt the rim.
- Combine the grapefruit juice and tequila in a shaker and shake until cold.
- Pour into glass with ice and top with grapefruit soda (Fresca, Jarritos, etc)
Leave a Comment or Recipe Tip