Make This at Home and You'll Be Booking Your Next Trip by Dinner
If there is a single drink that captures the feeling of a Mexican vacation better than any other, it's the Paloma.
Not the margarita, though we respect the margarita. Not a piña colada. The Paloma: tequila, fresh grapefruit, lime, a touch of salt, and something cold and fizzy to bring it all together. It's the drink that locals order. It's the drink that shows up at afternoon parties in Jalisco and rooftop bars in Mexico City and beachside tables in Cabo. And once you've had a well-made one, you'll understand immediately why it's been quietly winning the argument about Mexico's best cocktail for decades.
The good news: it's also one of the easiest things you can make at home. Five ingredients. No blender required. Ready in about three minutes. We're going to walk you through it.
The Classic Paloma
Serves 1
Ingredients:
- 2 oz blanco tequila (a good, 100% agave bottle makes a real difference here)
- 1 oz fresh grapefruit juice (fresh squeezed, not bottled)
- 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
- 1/2 oz agave syrup (or simple syrup)
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 2 to 3 oz sparkling water or grapefruit soda (Jarritos Toronja is the classic choice)
- Ice
- Grapefruit slice or wedge for garnish
- Optional: Tajin or salt rim
Method:
Start with a highball glass or any tall glass you like. If you're doing a salt or Tajin rim, wet the edge of the glass with a lime wedge, then press it gently into a small plate of salt or Tajin. Set the glass aside.
Fill the glass with ice. Add the tequila, fresh grapefruit juice, fresh lime juice, agave syrup, and a pinch of salt. Give it a quick stir. Top with sparkling water or grapefruit soda, your preference. The grapefruit soda makes a sweeter, slightly more festive version. The sparkling water keeps the grapefruit flavor front and center and lets the tequila speak a little more clearly.
Garnish with a grapefruit slice or wedge. Sit down somewhere. Pretend for a moment that you are on a terrace overlooking the Pacific.
A Few Notes on Ingredients
The tequila matters. You don't need to spend a fortune, but 100% agave blanco is the starting point. Mixto tequilas (those that are less than 100% agave) will work in a pinch, but the flavor difference in a drink this simple is noticeable. A mid-range 100% agave blanco, something like Espolon, Olmeca Altos, or Cimarron, is all you need.
The grapefruit juice really does need to be fresh. Bottled grapefruit juice is more bitter, less bright, and tends to make the drink taste flat regardless of everything else you do right. Squeeze the grapefruit while your ice is going in the glass and you'll taste exactly what the difference is.
The Tajin rim is optional but enthusiastically recommended. The combination of chili, lime, and salt against the grapefruit-tequila in the glass is genuinely excellent and takes the drink from "refreshing" to "why do I not have one of these in my hand at all times."
Make It a Batch
For a party, this scales effortlessly. Combine the tequila, grapefruit juice, lime juice, agave syrup, and salt in a pitcher in the ratios above, multiplied by however many members you're serving. Keep it cold. Pour over ice and top each glass individually with sparkling water or grapefruit soda just before serving, adding the fizz in advance makes the batch go flat.
The Version They Make at Blanca Blue
At Blanca Blue, the signature restaurant at Garza Blanca Resort and Spa Puerto Vallarta and Garza Blanca Resort and Spa Los Cabos, the bar team uses a house-made grapefruit-hibiscus syrup in place of the agave syrup. The hibiscus adds a deep floral note and turns the drink a brilliant rose-pink that looks almost too good to drink. Almost.
To make it at home: steep two tablespoons of dried hibiscus flowers in one cup of just-boiled water for ten minutes. Strain, add an equal amount of sugar, stir to dissolve, and cool completely. Use this in place of the agave syrup. The extra five minutes of prep is worth every second.
One More Thing
If you make this and it tastes like a vacation, that's not a coincidence. It's supposed to. The whole point is that the line between "home" and "there" gets a little thinner with the right drink in your hand, and the next trip always feels a little closer.
Try it and tag us: @taferresidenceclub on Instagram. If you've got a resort memory that goes with it, we want to hear that too.