Refreshing Tequila Paloma cocktail with fresh grapefruit

There are many great tequila cocktails and most of them are easy to make at home for your next cocktail hour. This tequila Paloma cocktail recipe hits the spot every time. It is super refreshing and an absolute crowd-pleaser.

Just like any drink, this grapefruit tequila cocktail has many variations. Some with sparkling grapefruit lemonade or other soft drinks. For me, fresh citrus juice is the way to go. It is also a great way to get your vitamin C while having fun.

If you are a keen cocktail maker, try these for your next cocktail hour:

• This refreshing and summery Watermelon Paloma

• Beautiful and spirit-forward Violet Margarita

Who invented the Paloma cocktail?

This refreshing tequila Paloma cocktail dates back to the 1950s Tequila, Mexico. Rumored to be invented by the legendary Don Javier Delgado Corona. “Paloma” means “dove” in Spanish, which is the ultimate symbol of love and peace.

Who doesn’t want a cocktail as good as this one?

Ingredients

To make the best Paloma recipe all you really need is:

• Tequila, you must start with a good quality spirit. Rooster Rojo is the spirit of my choice for this drink.
• Fresh lime juice, has a slight bitterness and will play wonderfully with the rest of the ingredients.
• Fresh grapefruit juice, the star of this drink is what makes it so refreshing and delicious.
• Agave syrup, to cut the tartness of the citrus juices.
• Sparkling or soda water, the higher the carbonation, the better.

Instructions

When making cocktails at home, it may seem that you need a lot of ingredients and tools, but you can always use a clean mason jar if you don’t have a cocktail shaker. The Paloma drink recipe is pretty straight forward and so are the steps that go into making it.

Ideally, you will need a couple of tools, like a cocktail shaker and a cocktail strainer. Which is a cool, inexpensive little gadget that you can buy for yourself.

How to make Palomas?

1. Squeeze your fresh citrus juices and add to the cocktail shaker. Fresh grapefruit and lime juice will add depth and tartness to the drink.
2. Add your tequila to the shaker, Anejo, reposado, and silver tequilas will work fine, just use a spirit that you like in taste prior to mixing.
3. Add Agave syrup for sweetness.
4. Add ice.
5. Shake and strain in a glass with fresh ice.
6. Top with sparkling water.

This is the most straightforward guide to making a grapefruit, Paloma.

Remember that great drinks should be shared with really good company to increase the enjoyment.

Substitutions

Fresh citrus juices – you can use store-bought juices for this drink.

Juices – there is also a Paloma recipe that calls for sparkling grapefruit lemonade, which could make this a two-ingredient cocktail.

Agave syrup – can be substituted with simple syrup, honey syrup, coconut nectar, and even Stevia if you are trying to lower the sugar amount of this drink.

Variations

Spicy – add a teaspoon of pickled jalapeno brine to the cocktail or make a salt and chili rim for the glass.

Lighter – choose lighter and lower calorie fruit juices and add less of them, more water. Also, lower the alcohol amount for a low ABV Tequila Paloma cocktail.

Other flavor variations – try switching up grapefruit juice for orange juice, pomegranate juice, mango juice, and other tropical fruit juices. These will work the best with tequila, just remember to alter the sweeteners when changing an ingredient.

How to serve la paloma?

• In a glass tumbler over lots of high-quality ice that melts slowly and won’t dilute your cocktail.
• With or without a salted rim.
• With grilled foods, Mexican appetizers, pizza, cheesy popcorn.

Top tips

If you are planning on serving Palomas for an afternoon cocktail hour or dinner, do the math on how many grapefruits and limes you will need. While the amounts of juice will warry depending on the season and size of the fruit, as a result, you will usually need ½ of lime and ½ of grapefruit to make this cocktail. 

Once you squeeze your juices, try to use them up pretty quickly and refrigerate for no more than 24 hours. While they will be perfectly safe to use even after 2 days, the flavor will be much different than what it is of a fresh juice.

Multiply the recipe

If you want to make a bigger batch of this refreshing Paloma drink and serve it to a lot of people, try using a mechanic citrus squeezer to get the most of your fruit, buy freshly squeezed juices at the market or use store-bought ones.

You can mix the ingredients without the ice and sparkling water in a large pitcher and place them in the fridge to cool for a few hours. Once ready to serve, prepare glasses with fresh ice and stir the drink before serving. Pour sparkling water on top of each individual cocktail or skip it completely and add still water to the pitcher.