Paloma Recipe

A Few More Things to Say About the Paloma

While perhaps not quite as famous as something like the Margarita, the Paloma is still a very well known and tasty Tequila based cocktail. Tequila just pairs so well with tart citrus fruits, and Grapefruit Juice is no exception to this! We obviously specify some Soda Water in this recipe which we think adds some nice fix to the drink while also making it a little less intense. However, some variations have no soda water and just serve the drink in a Rocks glass. Feel free to see how you like it the best then make it how you like it.

Will the Paloma recipe still work if more than one is made at once?

Yes, but keep in mind you’re shaking this cocktail and you want to actually get some good shaking action going. Overfilling your cocktail shaker will stop this. Keep your batch to only two or three cocktails at once?

Can I make a Paloma and save it for later?

Probably, but we wouldn’t suggest this. A cocktail like this is best served and enjoyed immediately after making it. If it’s only sitting for 15 or so minutes, you should be OK though.

What’s a good time to try a Paloma?

We like a cocktail like this either before or after dinner, it just depends on your personal taste. Of course there’s a little bit of sourness to this recipe, which is nice. Some like a nice tart drink before dinner to cleanse the taste buds, while others find tartness nice after eating. Dessert is often associated with sweets, but sour also works for dessert to. This is why we also like a Paloma after dinner. As mentioned though, this is completely up to personal taste. Perhaps you like one or the other, or perhaps both!

Going further, we always see Tequila as a hot weather drink, especially hot and dry weather. This makes it a wonderful summer time cocktail. Maybe you’ve just had a wonderful meal, the sun has gone down, the air is hot but the breeze is cool. And you’re drinking a Paloma. Wonderful!

How strong is a Paloma cocktail?

About average. 50 mL of Tequila isn’t anything excessive. If you check out more cocktail recipes on this site, you’ll note that most of them have about 45-60 mL of liquor in them. So we call it about average in strength. It’s also nice that the Paloma is a cocktail designed to drink slowly. Sip on it and enjoy it, take your time.

Always keep in mind, however, that cocktails are often stronger than a lot of other alcoholic drinks. Although we see the Paloma as about average, it’s still going to be stronger than say, a glass of dessert wine you may have as an alternative after dinner drink. So stay sensible!

What music can be paired with the Paloma?

Although there’s not a completely known history of this cocktail, there is a theory that it was named after a popular Mexican folk song from the 1860’s called La Paloma, which is Spanish for The Dove. We’ve never heard the song, nor does anybody at What Cocktail Can I Make speak Spanish, so even if we heard it we couldn’t tell you what it’s about. But assuming that there is some truth to the story that this cocktail was named after a song, we’d say pair them together! Of course you may not want to put the same song on repeat endless while you’re having a couple of drinks, so go ahead and find a playlist of Mexican folk songs to enjoy while you enjoy this drink as well.

A few more cocktail recipes for you

We have tons of cocktail recipes on this site and we encourage you to browse some more. If you like the Paloma, perhaps there’s other recipes you’ll like as well. Take a look:

All Tequila cocktail recipes: here’s we we keep all of our Tequila based cocktails. Keep the bottle and and make some more drinks.