Paloma Cocktail Recipe

What is the Paloma cocktail recipe?

If you make the Paloma cocktail recipe you get a deliciously refreshing grapefruit flavoured highball that is super simple to make at home. When you mix tasty ingredients and it needs very little expertise to do you are onto a winner.

Tequila’s popularity shows no signs of waning so a simple to make at home Paloma cocktail recipe is a no brainer. The big benefit of a Paloma versus its big tequila based brother the Margarita is it is so easy to make. Margs are easy to screw up so if you love tequila based cocktails then reach for a Paloma.

The other big benefit is you don’t need any cocktail-making equipment to knock this one out. It is made using the most simple method for cocktail making and is built into the glass. Flavour-wise it belies its simplicity with some really great flavours that are more than the sum of their parts.

How to make the Paloma cocktail recipe

Ingredients

50ml Tequila (ideally a good quality white tequila)

10ml Lime Juice

Top Pink Grapefruit Soda

Salt Rim (optional)

Method

Add 50ml tequila blanco and 10ml lime juice to a tumbler glass. Fill with cubed ice. Top with grapefruit soda.

If you want a salt rim simply run a lime wedge around the edge of your glass. Place your salt on a side plate and run the glass through your salt so its sticks to the outer rim of the glass. Remove any salt that falls into the glass or is on the inside lip before making the cocktail.

Garnish with a salt rim and Grapefruit slice

Why We Love The Paloma Cocktail Recipe?

As we hit upon earlier, the Paloma cocktail recipe is awesome because it’s ideal for making at home. It’s got minimal ingredients, tastes delicious (and reasonably complex given the short ingredient list) and is so easy to make. Cocktails that cover these bases are the holy grail are be sure to try it out.

The Paloma is the national cocktail of Mexico (not the Margarita…we were surprised too) and in Mexico is made with a grapefruit soda called Squirt. Back home in the UK our go-to pink grapefruit soda is from Three Cents Beverages. However, there are also worthy options at Fever Tree and Double Dutch (both more available in mainstream shops)

Tequila wise, opt for a Tequila Blanco (yup – white tequila) or at a push a lightly aged tequila is a good shout. As ever with all cocktails and ingredients use good quality brands. This couldn’t be more true with tequila as there are some dreadful tequilas out there still that will frankly ruin the cocktail. As a benchmark you want to be buying 100% blue agave tequila as a home bartender so you are ensured (more or less) of great quality.

Last up – salt. The salt rim is a great combination with the citrus and herbaceous tequila notes. Salt also, like in food, seasons the flavours and brightens them. Some bartenders actually add a very small pinch of salt directly to the drink rather than a rim. It’s not mandatory to use salt in the recipe but if you are not adverse to saltiness well worth exploring.

The Cocktail Society

Our cocktail club sends you delicious and unique cocktails every month or every 3 months (you can decide!)

For people who love cocktails as much as we do, but want to take the hassle out of finding recipes and sourcing ingredients, our monthly box sends you everything you need to recreate your favourite cocktail bar in your own home.

As well as ingredients and instructions you’ll also receive a large bottled cocktail, snacks, ready-to-drink canned cocktails, and discounts galore.

Membership is flexible, so you can skip a box or cancel any time.

Find out how our subscription works