Paloma Recipe: Mexico's Favorite Tequila Cocktail
The Paloma is more popular than the Margarita in Mexico, and once you have made one properly, the reason is obvious. The bittersweet pairing of fresh grapefruit and earthy blanco tequila — lengthened with soda and brightened with lime and salt — produces one of the most refreshing cocktails ever invented. It is also one of the easiest classics to master at home, requiring no special tools and ingredients you can find at any decent grocery store.
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The Paloma Recipe: Ingredients and Method
The classic Paloma calls for 2 oz blanco tequila, 2 oz fresh grapefruit juice, 0.5 oz fresh lime juice, a small pinch of salt, and approximately 2–3 oz of soda water to top. Build the drink directly in a tall highball or Collins glass filled with ice. Add the tequila, grapefruit juice, lime juice, and salt, give it a gentle stir to integrate, then top with soda water. Garnish with a grapefruit wedge or a salt-rimmed glass (Tajín, the chili-lime seasoning, is the most authentic salt option). The drink should be bright pink-orange, with visible carbonation, and served extremely cold.
Why Fresh Grapefruit Matters
Fresh grapefruit juice is the heart of a great Paloma. Bottled grapefruit juice — even premium versions — loses the bright, bitter complexity that makes the drink work. Red or pink grapefruits produce a sweeter, more accessible version; white grapefruit (harder to find but worth it) produces a drier, more bitter, more sophisticated drink that some prefer. Squeeze your grapefruit the day you plan to drink — even a few hours of oxidation noticeably dulls the flavor. If you must use a non-fresh option, look for fresh-pressed grapefruit juice in the refrigerated section, never the shelf-stable variety from the juice aisle.
Tequila Selection
Blanco (silver, plata) tequila is the traditional and correct choice. Its clean, vegetal, peppery character pairs beautifully with grapefruit's natural bitterness. Espolòn, Olmeca Altos, and El Jimador are excellent everyday choices at accessible prices. Don Julio Blanco is a serious upgrade. Look for '100% agave' on the label — anything labeled 'mixto' contains up to 49% non-agave sugars and produces an inferior, headache-inducing drink. Reposado tequila (aged 2–12 months) works in a Paloma but adds vanilla and caramel notes that some find competes with the grapefruit. For more on tequila and other agave drinks, see our tequila cocktails guide.
The Simplified Paloma: Squirt or Jarritos
In Mexico, the most common everyday Paloma uses Mexican grapefruit soda — Jarritos Toronja or Squirt — in place of separate fresh grapefruit juice and soda water. The result is slightly sweeter but undeniably authentic. The formula: 2 oz blanco tequila and 0.5 oz fresh lime juice over ice in a highball glass, topped with grapefruit soda. This version is faster to prepare for a crowd and tastes the way most Palomas served at Mexican restaurants and taquerias actually taste. For a proper salted edge, garnish with a salt-and-Tajín rim and a lime wedge. The fresh-juice version is more refined; the soda version is more popular for a reason.
Variations Worth Trying
The Diablo (or Mexican Diablo) substitutes the soda for ginger beer and adds 0.5 oz crème de cassis, producing a drink with similar architecture but darker, spicier, and more complex. The Mezcal Paloma uses joven or espadín mezcal in place of tequila — the smoke and minerality transform the drink into something completely different but equally compelling. A Pink Paloma muddles a few raspberries or grapefruit segments before building, adding fruit body and color. The Spicy Paloma adds 2–3 slices of fresh jalapeño to the shaker (this version requires shaking the tequila and citrus before topping with soda). All of these variations follow the Paloma's core logic of bittersweet grapefruit balanced with salt and agave.
The Paloma is one of those rare cocktails that is simultaneously casual enough for a beach barbecue and sophisticated enough for a serious cocktail bar — make it with fresh grapefruit, a quality 100% agave tequila, and a salted rim, and you have one of the most refreshing drinks ever invented.
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