How to make a Paloma
for your table
For a salted rim, rub the rim with lime and dip it in salt.
Fill the glass with ice and pour in the tequila, lime juice, and a pinch of salt.
Top with grapefruit soda and give it a quick stir.
Garnish with a wedge of grapefruit or lime.
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The story
Paloma is Spanish for dove. There are plenty of great stories about where the drink comes from. It may be named after a folk song, or it may have been invented by the famous Don Javier Delgado Corona at his cantina La Capilla, in the town of Tequila itself. What’s certain is that the Paloma took off when grapefruit soda like Squirt became popular in 1950s Mexico. It was simple and cheap, and helped beat the heat. That’s how it became Mexico’s most popular drink. Today, it’s popping up in cocktail bars everywhere.
The right glass
A Paloma is a thirst-quenching drink, so it’s served in a tall glass with plenty of ice. We use a 33 to 47 cl long drink glass. The bubbles last longer, it stays cold, and you can see the soft pink grapefruit color clearly. For an authentic cantina feel, choose a textured glass that feels sturdy in your hand. If you’re serving it with a salted rim, you can also choose a glass from our margarita glasses.
Onis Icon Long Drink Glass 47 cl (6 pieces)
Arcoroc Islande Long Drink Glass 33 cl (6 pieces)
Both sets together € 51,90.
The right tools
For a Paloma, you’ll need a long bar spoon alongside the glass, a jigger with six sizes, a citrus juicer, a glass rimmer and long ice sticks. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; find them all in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glass set (our pick 01) + 5 bar tools together € 116,70.
What do you need to make a Paloma?
You need tequila to make a Paloma. Popular bottles include Clase Azul and Don Julio. Each drink page tells you the alcohol percentage, what it tastes like, which cocktails it works in, and what glass you need.
Variations & twists
Mezcal adds smoke and depth. In Mexico City, it’s the trendier order these days. Use fresh grapefruit juice with soda instead of soda, and it’ll be drier and less sweet. And a chili-salt rim (Tajín) will instantly transport you to a patio in Guadalajara. Find even more ideas in our 100+ cocktail recipes.
Serving tip
The pinch of salt in the cocktail itself makes all the difference. It makes the grapefruit taste less bitter and rounds out the tequila. Fresh grapefruit juice and soda make for a drier Paloma.
Good to know
Grapefruit soda or fresh juice
In Mexico, they simply use Squirt or Jarritos, sweetened grapefruit soda. With 10 cl of that, the Paloma is sweet and light, and goes down easy. If you use 6 cl of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice with 4 cl of soda water instead, it turns out drier and more bitter. You can taste the tequila much better. With the fresh version, you often need half a bar spoon of simple syrup to temper the bitterness, especially with white grapefruit. Pink grapefruit is sweeter and can be used without it. Both are good; you just have to choose.
The salted rim with sea salt or Tajín
Run a lime wedge around the outside of the rim, not the inside. Then roll the glass through coarse sea salt on a flat plate. That way, no salt falls into the cocktail, and you can control how much you get with each sip. Salt just half the rim so everyone can choose. Tajín is a Mexican blend of chili, lime, and salt. It makes a spicy rim that goes really well with grapefruit. Salt the rim before adding the ice, or the salt won’t stick.
Paloma or Margarita
Both are tequila with citrus, but they’re very different drinks. The Margarita is a shaken sour made with 5 cl tequila, 2 cl triple sec, and 2 cl lime juice. Short and concentrated, served in a small glass. The Paloma is a long drink: the same 5 cl tequila with 1.5 cl lime juice, topped with 10 cl grapefruit soda over plenty of ice in a tall glass. That puts the Paloma at around 10 percent alcohol and the Margarita at around 25. In Mexico, people order Palomas every day. The Margarita is mostly for tourists there.
Paloma for a group, served from a pitcher
For six glasses, combine 30 cl tequila, 9 cl fresh lime juice, and half a teaspoon of fine salt in a pitcher. Chill for an hour. Add the 60 cl grapefruit soda only when serving, or it will have gone flat before the first guest pours a drink. Add ice to the glasses first, fill them two-thirds full, then top each one up. Allow about 17 cl per person. Have an extra bottle of soda ready, because a pitcher like this empties faster than you might think.
Paloma meaning and the name on the menu
Paloma is Spanish for dove. So the name doesn’t tell you much about what’s in it. It appears on the menu as Paloma or Paloma cocktail, and both mean the same thing: tequila with grapefruit. In Mexico, it’s nothing special. You simply order one on a warm afternoon, with the tequila and a bottle of grapefruit soda side by side on the bar. That’s why the recipe is so short, too. Five ingredients, built right in the glass.
Mezcal Paloma cocktail recipe
If you want smoke in your glass, just swap the tequila for mezcal. The rest of the recipe stays the same. Start with half mezcal and half tequila if you don’t want the smoky flavor to take center stage straight away. Mezcal has a bold flavor and overpowers the grapefruit faster than you might think. Pink grapefruit softens the smoke a little, and an extra lime wedge keeps it fresh. Taste as you go. You can always add another splash of mezcal, but you can’t take it out.
Frequently asked questions
What goes into a Paloma cocktail?
You'll need 5 cl of 100% agave tequila, 1.5 cl of fresh lime juice, a pinch of salt, and 10 cl of grapefruit soda. Serve over plenty of ice and garnish with a grapefruit wedge. The salt in the drink itself makes the grapefruit less bitter.
How do you make a Mexican Paloma?
If you like, rim the glass with lime and salt. Fill the glass with ice and pour in the tequila, lime juice, and a pinch of salt. Top with grapefruit soda and stir briefly. In Mexico, they usually use Squirt or a similar grapefruit soda.
What does a Paloma taste like?
Dry and bittersweet, and delightfully refreshing. The grapefruit adds a touch of bitterness, the lime brings acidity, and the salt rounds out the tequila. It's less sweet than a Margarita, so it goes down easily on a hot day. Fresh grapefruit juice makes it even drier.
What glass do you use for a Paloma?
A 33 to 47 cl highball glass with plenty of ice. Tall enough for the bubbles and wide enough for a grapefruit wedge. A textured glass gives it that cantina feel. Browse our highball glasses. Chill the glass beforehand.
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