Drinks

Paloma

April 28, 2018 by Jennifer 1 Comment

Cinco de Mayo is a week from Saturday, which means it’s time to break out the tequila and limes. That’s right, it’s time for a margarita or two, and there’s no better time to imbibe them then on one of the biggest Mexican holidays around.

While food is an important part of the holiday (I love a good taco or quesadilla), let’s be honest, it’s really all about the cocktails. I mean, we’re celebrating Mexico’s victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. And there’s no better way to celebrate a victory than with liquor. While champagne is usually the obvious choice, it’s Cinco de Mayo and for that we need hard alcohol… which brings us back to the margaritas.

I love a good margarita. But did you know there’s another Mexican cocktail out there that’s just a good? It’s not as well known but it’s definitely worth a taste. It’s called the Paloma and it’s similar to the margarita in that it’s made with citrus and tequila. But the Paloma has something the margarita doesn’t: bubbles.

Who doesn’t love bubbles? When it comes to drinks, alcoholic or not, bubbles add just the right amount of pizazz and bring a cocktail to a whole new level. While I love a good “up” drink like the martini or mai tai, a drink with bubbles just makes me so much happier, especially in the summer time. That’s what makes the Paloma so palatable. It’s like a margarita… with soda… which is fitting because that’s exactly how it’s made.

See, the original Paloma was made with tequila, lime juice and grapefruit soda – Squirt specifically. While you could still make it that way, these days it’s more common to use club soda and fresh grapefruit juice. I split the difference: I wanted to use a grapefruit soda but I didn’t want to use Squirt. It’s just too sweet… and that color, forget it. So, I went with Izze, which is delicious and makes one hell of a cocktail. Yes, I broke protocol. I didn’t copy the classic recipe. But that’s okay because we really don’t know what the classic recipe is. We don’t even know when it was created.

While the Paloma has always been made with grapefruit soda, according to my research (scouring the internet) Squirt didn’t make it’s way south of the border until 1955. But even in 1955 the Paloma didn’t take off. It wasn’t until some time in the 60’s that the Paloma became the popular drink it is today. Well, I say popular, but it’s still the margarita’s 2nd cousin. I don’t know why the margarita is always the first drink that comes to mind when Cinco de Mayo comes around, but it is… and you know what? It shouldn’t be.

Having tasted the Paloma I can honestly tell you, this drink is absolutely worth a sip… even on Cinco de Mayo. Remember Cinco de Mayo is a celebration and there’s no better way to celebrate than with liquor and bubbles. And there’s no better Mexican liquor and bubbles than tequila and grapefruit soda, aka the Paloma.