Paloma Cocktail Recipe

The paloma is Mexico’s most ordered cocktail, outselling the margarita by a wide margin in the country where tequila is made. Its accepted home is La Capilla in the town of Tequila, Jalisco, where the late bartender Don Javier Delgado Corona served a generation of regulars a highball of blanco, lime, salt, and grapefruit soda from the 1950s onward. The version below teaches both the Mexican home spec (Squirt, lime, salt) and the craft fresh-juice spec (pink grapefruit, lime, agave, club soda), plus a mezcal sub-variation and a Tajín rim worth trying once.

Gear That Helps Here

A tall highball or Collins glass for the build. A handheld Mexican-style lime squeezer for the half ounce of fresh juice (the only step that matters technique-wise). A jigger for the tequila pour. Tajín on the rim if you have it; flaky salt if you don’t.

If you’re going the fresh-juice route, a citrus juicer or a knife and a steady hand for the pink grapefruit. That’s the entire equipment list.

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Where the Paloma Came From

The paloma’s accepted origin sits in the town of Tequila, Jalisco, in the 1950s, behind the bar at La Capilla. The owner, Don Javier Delgado Corona, ran the place for nearly seventy years until his death in 2020 and is widely credited with codifying the drink that came to define Mexican cocktail culture. Spanish for “dove,” the name probably nods to a local folk song; the drink itself is a three-ingredient highball that anyone in town could pull together at home with what they kept on the counter.

The reason it overtook the margarita in Mexico is practical. The margarita is a shaken cocktail; the paloma is built in the glass. Tequila is the spirit, but the paloma is the soul of the everyday Mexican bar order, the one you get at a taqueria with lunch, at a wedding reception, or after a long day on the way home. Grapefruit soda was widely available and inexpensive, lime was on every counter, and the result was a long, refreshing drink that drank well with food. It traveled outward from Tequila slowly. Stateside, it stayed in the shadow of the margarita for decades, even as it became the default tequila cocktail south of the border.

Two versions coexist now. The Mexican home version uses bottled grapefruit soda (Squirt is the most-cited, Jarritos a close second). The craft bar version trades the soda for fresh pink grapefruit juice, a touch of agave, and a club soda top. Both are correct. The recipe below leads with the authentic spec and then teaches the fresh-juice version as a variation you’ll want when grapefruits are in season.

A Few Notes on the Ingredients

Blanco tequila: Blanco (also labeled silver or plata) is the canonical choice. Unaged, bright, with the peppery agave character the drink is built around. Espolòn is the workhorse value pick at most US liquor stores; Tres Generaciones blanco has more weight; Don Julio blanco if you want to spend a little more. Reposado works if that’s what you have (warmer, oakier, slightly heavier), but blanco is the spec.

Grapefruit soda: Squirt is the original Mexican-bar pick because it’s lightly sweetened and citrus-forward. Jarritos Toronja is the more common option at US grocery stores and has a slightly darker, more bitter grapefruit profile that some drinkers prefer. Fresca and Ting work in a pinch. Avoid diet sodas; the artificial sweeteners flatten the drink.

Fresh lime juice: Always fresh, always squeezed at the bar. Bottled lime juice tastes of the bottle and undermines the entire drink. A half ounce is about half a small lime.

Salt or Tajín on the rim: Plain coarse salt is traditional. Tajín, the Mexican chile-lime-salt seasoning, is a popular modern swap that adds a quiet chile heat and citric tang to every sip. If you’re new to Tajín, do a half-and-half rim the first time so you can compare.

Fresh pink grapefruit juice (for the craft version): Pink grapefruit is sweeter and more floral than white; it makes a better fresh-juice paloma. Squeeze just before mixing; oxidized grapefruit juice goes bitter fast.

Agave nectar: Light agave syrup is the right sweetener for the craft version. It blends cleanly without the gluey thickness of simple syrup and keeps the drink in its agave-spirit lane. Half a part diluted 1:1 with water if it pours thick from the bottle.

Club soda: For the fresh-juice version, a soda top adds lift and dilutes the drink to highball strength. Cold and well-carbonated; the bottle stays in the fridge.

Recipe: Paloma

Prep time: 3 minutes | Total time: 3 minutes | Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 60 ml (2 oz) blanco tequila
• 15 ml (0.5 oz) fresh lime juice, plus a wedge for the rim
• 120 to 180 ml (4 to 6 oz) grapefruit soda (Squirt or Jarritos), to top
• Coarse salt or Tajín, for the rim
• Pink grapefruit wedge, for garnish
• Ice, to fill

Instructions

1. Rim the glass. Rub a lime wedge around the outer edge of a highball or Collins glass, then dip the rim into a shallow plate of coarse salt or Tajín. Half-rim is fine; that way the drinker can choose which sip side to use.
2. Fill the rimmed glass with ice. Pour in 60 ml (2 oz) blanco tequila and 15 ml (0.5 oz) fresh lime juice.
3. Top with 120 to 180 ml (4 to 6 oz) grapefruit soda, pouring slowly down the side of the glass so the carbonation stays intact. Stir once, gently, with a long spoon.
4. Garnish with a pink grapefruit wedge perched on the rim. Serve cold, with a straw if you like.

Notes

For the craft fresh-juice version, swap the grapefruit soda for 60 ml (2 oz) fresh pink grapefruit juice plus 7 to 15 ml (0.25 to 0.5 oz) agave nectar, then top with club soda. Shake the tequila, grapefruit, lime, and agave with ice; strain into the rimmed, ice-filled glass; top with soda. Same garnish.

Build it in the glass, not in a shaker. The paloma is a highball; shaking flattens the soda and breaks the line of the drink. The only shaking exception is the fresh-juice craft version, which needs the shake to integrate the agave.

Drink immediately. The carbonation falls off after about ten minutes and a flat paloma is a sad paloma. If you’re entertaining, mix one at a time or batch ahead of guests without the soda (see the pitcher tip below).

Leftover pink grapefruit juice keeps about 24 hours covered in the fridge before it turns bitter. Squeeze what you’ll use.

Tips and Variations

The Craft Fresh-Juice Paloma

This is the version you’ll see at most US cocktail bars. The spec is 60 ml (2 oz) blanco tequila, 60 ml (2 oz) fresh pink grapefruit juice, 15 ml (0.5 oz) fresh lime juice, 7 to 15 ml (0.25 to 0.5 oz) agave nectar, and a 60 to 90 ml (2 to 3 oz) club soda top. Shake the first four ingredients with ice for about 12 seconds, then strain into a salt-rimmed Collins glass over fresh ice and top with soda.

The trade-off is honest. Fresh juice gives you a brighter, more floral grapefruit note and lets you control the sweetness. Soda gives you the drink that actually tastes like the one Don Javier served. Pick by season: fresh juice when pink grapefruits are stacked at the market in winter, soda the rest of the year.

The Mezcal Paloma (smoky variation)

Swap half the tequila for mezcal, or go full mezcal if you like a heavier smoke. A 30 ml (1 oz) blanco / 30 ml (1 oz) mezcal split is the friendliest entry. Vida by Del Maguey and Banhez are widely available US mezcals that play well with grapefruit.

The smoke against the grapefruit acid is the move here. It reads as a quietly more grown-up version of the drink, the one you’d order with a plate of tacos al pastor rather than at the start of brunch. Same lime, same salt, same soda top.

Tajín Rim vs Plain Salt Rim

Plain coarse salt is the original. It does one job (sharpen the citrus on the lip) and stays out of the way. Tajín is a Mexican seasoning of chile, lime, and salt; it adds a quiet chile heat and a citric edge to every sip and has become the default rim at many Mexican-American bars.

Try a half-and-half rim the first time you do it: half plain salt, half Tajín. Sip from one side, then the other. Most drinkers come down on the Tajín side and don’t go back. If you want a middle ground, mix 2 parts coarse salt to 1 part Tajín on a small plate and dip the rim into that.

Batch Pitcher for 8

For the authentic soda version, the math is straightforward. Combine 480 ml (16 oz, about 2 cups) blanco tequila and 120 ml (4 oz, 0.5 cup) fresh lime juice in a pitcher in the fridge. When guests arrive, fill rimmed highball glasses with ice, pour about 75 ml (2.5 oz) of the tequila-lime mix into each glass, and top with cold grapefruit soda. Stir once. The point is not pre-mixing the soda; flat paloma is a no-go.

For the fresh-juice version, scale that same way but combine 480 ml (16 oz) blanco, 480 ml (16 oz) fresh pink grapefruit juice, 120 ml (4 oz) lime, and 60 to 90 ml (2 to 3 oz) agave in the pitcher. Pour about 150 ml (5 oz) per glass over ice and top with 60 ml (2 oz) club soda. Keep the pitcher cold and shake the glass briefly with a bar spoon before topping.

Reposado vs Blanco Swap

Blanco is the spec because the drink wants brightness and bare agave. Reposado (aged 2 to 12 months in oak) brings warmth, a softer mouthfeel, and a vanilla note from the barrel; it makes a heavier, slightly sweeter paloma that drinks more like dusk than midday. Worth trying at least once, especially if you’re using the fresh-juice version where the extra weight balances the acid.

Skip añejo (aged a year or more) for this drink; the oak overwhelms the grapefruit and you’ve spent good tequila on a highball. Save añejo for sipping. If you like the dressed-up version, the Apple Cider Margarita is the same logic applied to fall.

What to Serve It With

The paloma is built for Mexican food. Tacos al pastor, with their pineapple sweetness and chile heat, are the canonical match; the grapefruit and lime cut through the fat of the pork and the salt rim threads back into the seasoning. Carnitas tacos, carne asada, and a plate of pescado a la talla all do the same work. For lighter fare, ceviche or a tostada de tinga.

For appetizers, guacamole with totopos, queso fundido, esquites in a cup, or shrimp aguachile. The drink is acidic and lightly sweet, so it handles salt and chile better than almost any other cocktail. A bowl of salted Marcona almonds and a few lime wedges is also a fine, two-ingredient cocktail-hour pairing.

For the broader rotation, the paloma sits next to the classic Margarita as one of the two tequila highballs everyone should know. For seasonal drinks alongside it, our roundup of the best fall cocktails covers what to pour when grapefruit isn’t in peak season.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a margarita and a paloma?

A margarita is a shaken sour built on tequila, orange liqueur, and lime, served up or on the rocks. A paloma is a built-in-the-glass highball of tequila, lime, and grapefruit (soda or fresh), topped with soda water in the craft version. The paloma is longer, lighter, less sweet, and lower in ABV per sip.

What grapefruit soda is best for a paloma?

Squirt is the original Mexican-bar pick, lighter and sweeter. Jarritos Toronja is the more common US grocery option and has a darker, more bitter grapefruit profile. Both are correct; pick by what you can find. Avoid diet versions; the artificial sweeteners flatten the drink.

Is a paloma stronger than a margarita?

No. A standard paloma uses 2 oz tequila in a long highball with 4 to 6 oz of soda; a classic margarita uses the same 2 oz tequila but in a smaller, more concentrated drink. Per sip, the paloma is lighter and more sessionable.

Can I use fresh grapefruit juice instead of soda?

Yes, and many craft bars do. The spec becomes 2 oz blanco tequila, 2 oz fresh pink grapefruit juice, 0.5 oz lime, 0.25 to 0.5 oz agave, shaken with ice and topped with 2 to 3 oz club soda over fresh ice in a salt-rimmed Collins glass. Brighter, less sweet, more grown-up than the soda version.

What tequila is best for a paloma?

A 100% agave blanco is the spec. Espolòn is the workhorse value pick. Tres Generaciones blanco has more weight, Don Julio blanco more polish, and Tapatío 110 blanco is a bartender favorite if you can find it. Skip mixto tequila and skip anything aged beyond reposado.

Final Thoughts

The paloma is the cocktail that quietly settles every argument about what tequila wants to be. Not shaken, not gussied up, not in a frozen blender. A long glass, real lime, cold grapefruit soda, salt on the lip. Three minutes from cabinet to first sip.

It’s a summer drink and a year-round drink and the drink to make when someone shows up unannounced and you’ve got blanco and a can of Squirt. It pairs with tacos al pastor on a Tuesday, with carnitas at a dinner party, with chips and guacamole on a Sunday afternoon. For a slightly dressed-up table, try the fresh-juice version once and decide which one you live by.

Keep blanco tequila, a few cans of Jarritos, a bag of limes, and a tin of Tajín in the house. That’s the entire setup. Once you have it, the paloma is the easiest good cocktail you’ll make all year.

Last update on 2026-08-11 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API