Palomas – A refreshing, Mexican drink made with red grapefruit, lime juice, tequila, and a splash of grapefruit sparkling water.
Two new cocktail recipes in one week?! How did you get so lucky?? Last week, I shared this strawberry basil vodka punch recipe to help ring in summer right.
With Cinco de Mayo coming up this weekend, I thought it was most appropriate to share a popular Mexican drink that you probably haven’t had before – the Paloma!
What is a paloma?
A paloma is a traditional Mexican drink that’s made with lime juice, tequila, and grapefruit-flavored soda, like Fresca or Squirt. But as it’s popularity grew in the US within the last few years, there have been crafty variations of the drink made with fresh grapefruit juice instead of soda.
Why I love Palmoas
I am such a huge grapefruit fan – I use its juice for mimosas instead of the traditional OJ and I even eat grapefruit in wedges like you might eat an orange. It’s my favorite! What else would you expect from a girl who grew up in Florida?!
So when I saw the paloma on a cocktail menu for the first time, I just had to try it. I mean, grapefruit juice and TEQUILA, my favorite liquor?? Yes, please!
The blend of grapefruit juice and lime juice with a hint of agave to smooth out the flavor pairs incredibly well with the tequila. It refreshes you palate with every sip! I don’t need to tell you how great this drink is to sip by the pool.
How is this recipe made?
For my recipe, I use red grapefruit juice. Red grapefruit is sweeter than pink grapefruit, which is a little more tart. Either will work, but I like the added sweetness of the red grapefruit the best, especially since we get the tartness from the fresh lime juice.
Once you’ve added the juices, next comes the agave syrup and tequila. Finally, you shake all the ingredients together with some ice and serve with a topper of grapefruit sparkling water. I like how the fizz of the sparkling water feels on the first sip. So bubbly!!
Tips & Tricks
This recipe is as simple as you can get – only 4 ingredients and no fancy tools or equipment. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have a couple tips for the recipe:
- Always, always, always use fresh juice when cooking and baking and ESPECIALLY when bartending. Fresh juice makes such a difference in cocktails so don’t skip on the fresh stuff!
- You can use sugar or honey in place of agave if you want, but since agave is used to make tequila, it pairs the best with the liquor.
And that’s all there is to it! I know you’re going to love this drink just as much as I do. Cheers!
Palomas
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup red grapefruit juice
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1/3 cup silver tequila
- 2 teaspoons agave syrup
- 1/2 cup grapefuit sparkling water
- salt and cayenne for rim
Instructions
- Prepare 2 glasses by rubbing a lime wedge around the rim and dipping the rim in salt sprinkled with a hint of cayenne. Fill cup about 2/3 with ice. Set aside.
- Add grapefruit juice, lime juice, tequila, agave, and ice to a shaker. Shake for about 5 seconds. Pour into prepared glasses. Top with grapefruit sparkling water and serve.
More drinks you’ll love:
Watermelon Margaritas
Tropical Red Bull Margaritas
Electric Orange Pisco Sour
These look refreshing and totally easy to whip together. MY favorite part is the sparkling water for a bit of fizz and that salt and cayenne pepper rim -yum!
I love Palomas too. I havent tried it with a grapefruit sparkling water though- I always just use juice but that little fizz sounds tasty.
Yum this sounds so good! Perfect for cinco de mayo this weekend!
What a cool and refreshing drink with a kick! Love the cayenne on the rim; yum!
These are so refreshing and tasty!! Thank you for the recipe!!
I LOVE grapefruit! Mexican cocktails are just the best. So juicy and refreshing. Can’t wait to try this this summer.
Palomas are such a classic and delicious cocktail! I love the idea of adding a little cayenne to the salted rim. Yum!
This sounds like the perfect summer cocktail
A cocktail sounds so good right now!
I’m totally going to follow your blog! This Palomas recipe looks amazing! Trying it tonight!