Paloma
For a refreshing, thirst quenching tequila cocktail, the Paloma (Spanish for "dove") is definitely at the top of the list and it's Mexico's favorite tequila cocktail. It's a light, fruity drink with a great fizz and one of the smoothest tequila drinks out there. A cousin to the margarita, it has the same sweet-and-sour DNA, only a bit bitter and a bit bubbly.
This drink is most commonly prepared by mixing tequila with a grapefruit-flavored soda, such as the Mexican Jarritos brand, and served on the rocks with a lime wedge. Grapefruit soda can be hard to find; but anything will do, even, at last resort, a lemon-lime soda such as Fresca or Squirt, with a splash of grapefruit juice. Some prefer the salt on the rim of the glass, but others say just throw it in. Others omit it entirely. Don't.
The paloma is considered by some to be more flavorful than its closest relative, the greyhound, which consists of grapefruit juice and either gin or vodka mixed and served over ice, as the tequila present in a paloma adds an earthy note to the drink that both gin and vodka lack.
It's an easy drink to make at home. Sip it while on the front porch or at a backyard barbecue. You can throw a Paloma party. Put out a bottle of reposado (rested, or aged less than a year) tequila, some Squirt, a bowl of lime wedges and salt on a table and let folks mix their own. That's how the drink is served at some restaurants in Jalisco.
Alternatively, the grapefruit soda can be replaced with fresh white or red grapefruit juice (jugo de toronja), club soda (sugar optional), and fresh-squeezed lime juice. The secret to a great Paloma is fresh grapefruit.
La Paloma
Recipe courtesy of David Wondrich for Esquire Magazine
2 ounces tequila
1/2 ounce lime juice
pinch of salt
grapefruit soda
Combine the tequila (reposado, preferably), lime juice, and salt in a Collins glass. Add ice, top off with grapefruit soda and stir. Mexican Jarritos brand is preferred but anything will do. (Use lemon-lime soda with a splash of grapefruit juice if you can't find grapefruit soda.) Some prefer the salt on the rim of the glass, but we say just throw it in. Others omit it entirely. Don't.
La Paloma (version with fresh grapefruit juice)
Recipe by Tad Carducci of Tippling Bros., a New York-based consultancy, from the cocktail book "Boozehound" by Jason Wilson
3 ounces freshly squeezed white grapefruit juice
2 ounces blanco or silver tequila
½ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
½ ounce agave nectar or sugar syrup
Sea salt to rim the glass
Club soda
1 lime wheel for garnish
To rim the glass, cut a notch in the lime wheel, then run the lime around the rim of a glass. Dip the edge of the rim into a plate of sea salt.
Fill cocktail shaker two-thirds full with ice. Add grapefruit juice, tequila, lime juice and agave nectar. Shake well and strain into an ice-filled Collins glass rimmed with sea salt.
Top with a splash of club soda, and garnish with lime wheel.
