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This easy paloma recipe uses fresh grapefruit juice and club soda for a refreshing citrus sipper that's perfect for Thirsty Thursday or Cinco de Mayo.
Welcome to another installment of Thirsty Thursday, a series on Sweet Tea and Thyme where cocktails are the focus every Thursday.
Thirsty Thursday is back, y'all! Like officially! I've been crafting cocktails all month and have a ton ready to post for y'all every week! I can finally take a bit of a break from whipping these bad boys up for shoots, haha.
Now my husband can stop giving me the weird eye for making Bahama Mamas in the dead of winter. We live in South Florida, judge me when we live somewhere cold.
Jump to:- What's a Paloma?
- How to Make the Best Paloma Cocktail
- Making a Large Batch Pitcher of Paloma
- Recommended Tools
- Here are more fun fruit cocktails:
- 📖 Recipe
What's a Paloma?
A Paloma (pronounced pah-low-ma) is a refreshing citrus cocktail with origins from Mexico. It tastes bright and fizzy, and using your own sweeteners (sugar, simple syrup, or agave nectar) help make the drink as sweet or as tart as you want. The Paloma cocktail is considered the more flavorful cousin of the Greyhound cocktail, which is a no-frill grapefruit and gin cocktail.
The word paloma translates to 'dove' and the drink La Paloma seems to have a vague history that no one can pin point.
The traditional paloma recipe mixes crisp blanco tequila with grapefruit flavored soda, originally Squirt soda, but it's hard to pinpoint when it was created exactly (sometime after the 1940's) and by whom. All we know is that it originated in Mexico and it's freaking delish.
How to Make the Best Paloma Cocktail
What I love about this cocktail is how simple it is. Instead of using grapefruit soda, I use fresh ruby red grapefruit and club soda. Ruby Red is actually a specific breed of grapefruit that is sweeter than usual, so if you don't like that really tart grapefruit flavor use the ruby reds. They also are what gives the paloma a pretty rosy pink hue.
Ingredients
Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice. Though you can find this bottled up at the local grocery store, fresh tastes the best to me!
Club Soda. This gives you that sparkly, fizzy, fun aspect that the grapefruit soda would give without the high fructose corn syrup.
Blanco Tequila. Use an agave blanco tequila for a crisp flavor.
A Squeeze of Lime Juice.
A Teaspoon or Two of Sugar or Simple Syrup. I used raw sugar, it's my preference since it has a slightly different flavor than granulated sugar. This drink was meant to have some sweetness.
Ice Cubes. I consider this optional so long as all the ingredients are cold since I don't like ice diluting drinks, especially fizzy ones!
Simply mix the grapefruit juice, tequila, lime juice, and sugar together in your glass, add ice, and pour in the club soda. Give another stir and serve! A really simple drink that is perfect for citrus season, summer sipping, or Cinco de Mayo.
Making a Large Batch Pitcher of Paloma
For a large batch, I totally suggest using bottled grapefruit juice and lime juice, otherwise you'll be juicing a lot of citrus for a while.
You'll be using 2 ½ cups of blanco tequila, mixing in 3 cups grapefruit juice, ½ cup lime juice, about 18 ounces of club soda or sparkling water, about ¼ cup sugar or simple syrup.
You could also grab your favorite grapefruit soda like Ting, Fresca, or Squirt instead of the club soda and simple syrup (I like the freshness of the grapefruit juice, it cuts through the sweetness of the soda so keep it in!).
Pour into your highball glasses or old fashioned glasses filled with ice cubes and serve immediately!
Highball Glasses
Buy Now →Old Fashioned Glasses
Buy Now →Citrus Juicer
Buy Now →Here are more fun fruit cocktails:
- Blueberry Moscow Mule
- Strawberry Gin Smash
- Hard Brazilian Limeade
- Yuzu Tom Collins
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Ingredients
- 2 shots (6 tbsp) blanco tequila
- 4 ounces (about 2 large Ruby Red grapefruits' worth) fresh grapefruit juice, plus wedges for garnish
- ½ cup club soda
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1 tablespoon simple syrup or sugar, or to taste
- Ice Cubes
Instructions
- Mix the tequila, grapefruit juice, lime juice, and sugar into highball or old fashioned glasses.
- Fill the remainder of the glass with ice and club soda, then give a good stir with a small spoon. Adjust the sweetness to taste.
- Garnish with a grapefruit wedge and enjoy immediately.
Notes
Making a Large Batch Pitcher of Paloma
For a large batch, I totally suggest using bottled grapefruit juice and lime juice, otherwise you'll be juicing a lot of citrus for a while.
You'll be using 2 ½ cups of blanco tequila, mixing in 3 cups grapefruit juice, ½ cup lime juice, about 18 ounces of club soda or sparkling water, about ¼ cup sugar or simple syrup. You could also grab your favorite grapefruit soda like Ting, Fresca, or Squirt instead of the club soda and simple syrup (I like the freshness of the grapefruit juice, it cuts through the sweetness of the soda!).
Pour into your highball glasses or old fashioned glasses filled with ice cubes and serve immediately!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 400Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 80mgCarbohydrates: 75gFiber: 2gSugar:
22gProtein: 3g
All nutrition facts are estimations. Please see a physician for any health-related inquiries.
Eden Westbrook is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind Sweet Tea and Thyme. A classically trained chef, Eden has inspired home cooks into the kitchen with cultural comfort foods, easy family-friendly eats and sweets, and glorious spreads for date night and entertaining since 2015.