Paloma
Mexico's everyday highball: blanco tequila, a squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt topped with cold grapefruit soda over ice, built in the glass in under two minutes.
In the US the margarita is the famous tequila drink; in Mexico, many writers say, the paloma is the one people actually order. It is simple on purpose: Wikipedia says the basic paloma is just tequila and grapefruit soda, and in Mexico it is made with grapefruit sodas such as Squirt or Jarritos). It cannot be older than grapefruit soda: Squirt was created in 1938 by Herb Bishop in Phoenix, Arizona), and Texas Monthly reports it reached Mexico in the 1950s (search summary). Who first mixed it is unknown. For years Don Javier Delgado Corona, owner of La Capilla in the town of Tequila, was named as the inventor, but Jim Meehan's "Bartender's Manual" reports that he denied it, and an often-cited early source, a 1953 pamphlet called "Popular Cocktails of the Rio Grande", appears never to have existed; the citation seems to have started as a joke added to Wikipedia (Patrón's history page). "Paloma" means dove; whether the drink is named for a dove, a 19th-century song or "pomelo" (grapefruit) is unclear (Wikipedia; Patrón).
Why it works the kitchen science
Salt inside the drink
A pinch dissolved in the glass sharpens grapefruit's bitterness into something bright, the same trick as a salt rim but in every sip.
Soda does the mixing
A sweet, tart grapefruit soda supplies the sugar and citrus, so the only fresh work is a squeeze of lime.
Step by step
- Step 1
Method: Built. If you want a salt rim, wet the rim of a tall highball glass with the lime wedge and dip it in salt.
- Step 2
Fill the glass with ice cubes.
- Step 3
Add the tequila, lime juice and the pinch of salt.
- Step 4
Top with the grapefruit soda, pouring slowly down the side.
- Step 5
Stir gently for 2 to 3 seconds, lifting from the bottom, so the salt and lime spread without flattening the soda.
- Step 6
Add the grapefruit wedge and serve right away.
Paloma
Serves 1 · 1 drink · 2 min total
Drink
- 2 oz (60 ml) blanco tequila (100% agave)
- 1/2 oz (15 ml) fresh lime juice
- 1 small pinch kosher salt
- 4 oz (120 ml) cold grapefruit soda
- Ice cubes
Garnish
- 1 grapefruit wedge or lime wedge
- Salt for the rim (optional)
Method
- Method: Built. If you want a salt rim, wet the rim of a tall highball glass with the lime wedge and dip it in salt.
- Fill the glass with ice cubes.
- Add the tequila, lime juice and the pinch of salt.
- Top with the grapefruit soda, pouring slowly down the side.
- Stir gently for 2 to 3 seconds, lifting from the bottom, so the salt and lime spread without flattening the soda.
- Add the grapefruit wedge and serve right away.
Adapted from Difford's Guide, "Paloma (Simple)": 50 ml blanco tequila, 7.5 ml lime juice and 120 ml pink grapefruit soda, poured into an ice-filled Collins glass, briefly stirred, with an optional salt rim and a grapefruit wedge, and the IBA spec in Wikipedia's infobox (50 ml 100% agave tequila, 5 ml lime, a pinch of salt, 100 ml pink grapefruit soda). We use 2 oz tequila, 1/2 oz lime and a pinch of salt in the drink. diffordsguide.com. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- Fresher version: replace the soda with 2 oz fresh pink grapefruit juice, 1/4 oz simple syrup and 2 oz club soda.
- Mexican grapefruit sodas made with cane sugar taste less syrupy than corn-syrup ones; either works.
- Our math: about 1.3 US standard drinks, assuming 80-proof tequila.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Don Javier Delgado Corona invented it. Disputed: long credited, but he reportedly denied it (Jim Meehan, via Patrón); Difford's still calls him the rumored creator.
- "Popular Cocktails of the Rio Grande" (1953) is the first reference. Documented as unfounded: no copy has been found and it appears to be a Wikipedia hoax (Patrón).
- The paloma is Mexico's most popular cocktail. Folklore: a popular claim (Texas Monthly, via The Counter; search summaries), with no survey cited.
- The name means dove. Disputed: dove, a folk song and "pomelo" are all proposed (Wikipedia; Patrón).
Every other cocktail
Classic Margarita
Blanco tequila, orange liqueur and fresh lime, shaken hard and poured over fresh ice in a half salt-rimmed glass: the sour that Mexico, Texas and California all claim.
Frozen Margarita (Dallas, 1971)
The margarita as Texas made it famous: tequila, orange liqueur, lime and a little syrup blended with crushed ice into a smooth, spoonable slush, the drink a Dallas restaurateur put in a machine in 1971.
Cuban Daiquiri
The original daiquiri is not pink and not frozen: white rum, fresh lime and a little sugar, shaken ice cold and strained into a chilled coupe, the way it was made in Cuba before America put it in a blender.
Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri
How America remade the Cuban daiquiri: white rum, lime and sugar blended with frozen strawberries and crushed ice into a thick red slush, the version that came with the electric blender.
Cuban Mojito
Havana's highball: mint pressed gently with lime and sugar, white rum, a mound of crushed ice and a splash of soda, built and churned right in the glass.
Negroni (and the Americano)
Equal parts gin, red bitter aperitivo and sweet vermouth, stirred cold and served over one big cube with orange: Italy's bittersweet classic, plus the older "American-style" Americano it came from.
Old Fashioned (the Whiskey Cocktail)
The drink that defined the word cocktail: whiskey, a little sugar, bitters and water, stirred over one big cube with an orange peel, before fruit salad got muddled into it.
Manhattan
Rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters stirred ice cold and served up with a cherry: New York's whiskey classic, and a famous origin story that cannot be true.
Tom Collins
Gin, lemon and sugar shaken, poured over ice in a tall glass and lengthened with soda: a sparkling lemonade for grownups, named, maybe, after a newspaper hoax.
Moscow Mule
Vodka, fresh lime and spicy ginger beer over ice in a cold copper mug: the 1940s American drink that sold a nation on vodka, and its famous mug.
Piña Colada (Caribe Hilton style)
Puerto Rico's official drink: white rum, sweet cream of coconut, a splash of heavy cream and fresh pineapple juice blended with ice, the way the Caribe Hilton shares its 1954 recipe.
Mai Tai (Trader Vic, 1944)
The real mai tai is not pink and has no pineapple juice: aged rum, lime, orange curaçao, almond orgeat and a touch of syrup, shaken and poured over crushed ice with mint and a spent lime shell.
Gin and Tonic
London dry gin and cold tonic water over plenty of ice with a squeeze of lime: the two-ingredient highball with a malaria-medicine backstory that is half history and half legend.
Virgin Mojito (Nojito)
All the mint, lime and fizz of a mojito with no alcohol at all: mint pressed with lime and syrup, crushed ice and plenty of club soda, built in the glass in four minutes.
Shirley Temple
The original American mocktail: cold ginger ale and a pour of grenadine over ice, with two maraschino cherries, the pink drink named for a child star who said she never liked it.
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