The Paloma: An IBA Classic

On May 22nd, the world will recognize the national drink of Mexico with World Paloma Day, so let’s get in on the fun.

What is a Paloma?

The Paloma is an International Bartenders Association (IBA) classic in The New Era category. This is a simple cocktail consisting of just 4 ingredients (plus ice) stacked in the glass, with no bar tools, shaking, or special technique required.

What Goes Into a Paloma?

Since this a Mexican cocktail the base spirit is Tequila, of course, mixed with grapefruit soda, lime juice, and a pinch of salt. Some recipes call for rimming the glass with salt, while other just add a pinch of salt to the glass. We’re going to follow the official IBA recipe and just add a pinch of salt to the glass.

Tequila: Your choice of tequila should be a good quality blanco, or perhaps a light reposado. Avoid using an añejo. The Paloma is a light, clean, and refreshing cocktail so an oak-forward aged tequila is not what you want.

Grapefruit soda: The grapefruit soda is key to this recipe. Choose a brand you like. I’m using Jarritos, but you could also use any grapefruit soda such as Squirt, or Fresca. Jarritos is highly carbonated, and sweetened with cane sugar. The recipe on the IBA website specifically says pink grapefruit soda but that wasn’t available to me locally, so I’m using what I could find.

I’ve seen a number of recipes that call for fresh grapefruit juice, and while I usually recommend fresh fruit juice wherever possible, I don’t recommend it in this case. I think it would taste great, but this recipe is for the official IBA cocktail which uses bottled grapefruit soda. Using fresh juice also adds time and complexity having to juice a grapefruit, add soda water, and simple syrup to make up for the lack of sweetener that you find in a soda. This is a simple, cocktail to make, so let’s keep it that way.

Fresh lime juice: I’m using fresh lime juice, as always. You could use bottled lime juice if that’s what you have available, but use fresh if you can. Fresh lime juice has a brightness and freshness that even a good quality bottled lime juice can’t match. You are going to need a lime wheel as a garnish anyway, so use the fresh lime!

Salt: A pinch of salt, added to the glass, adds a savory quality to this cocktail that blends perfectly with the earthy tequila and the tart grapefruit soda. Some recipes call for rimming the glass, which looks great, but takes a little more effort, and time, but is not called for in the official recipe.