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Virgin Paloma

Grapefruit, lime and salt over ice — Mexico's real everyday drink, and better than a margarita.

Virgin Paloma — a non-alcoholic drink served in a glass
Photo by E Vön Zita · CC BY 2.0 · via Openverse
Prep
4 min
Serves
1
Glass
Highball
Difficulty
Easy

Ingredients

  • 2 oz fresh grapefruit juice
  • 0.5 oz fresh lime juice
  • 0.25 oz agave syrup
  • Pinch of salt
  • 4 oz grapefruit soda or soda water
  • Salt for the rim, grapefruit wedge to garnish

Method

  1. 1Salt half the rim of a highball glass using a lime wedge.
  2. 2Fill with ice and add the grapefruit juice, lime juice, agave and salt.
  3. 3Stir, then top with grapefruit soda.
  4. 4Garnish with a grapefruit wedge.

Notes

  • The paloma outsells the margarita in Mexico, and it's the easier drink to make well without tequila — grapefruit and salt do all the work.
  • Salting only half the rim lets you choose per sip.
  • Use a Mexican grapefruit soda if you can find one; it's less sweet than most.

Common questions

What is a paloma?

A Mexican highball of tequila, grapefruit and lime with a salted rim. It's more commonly drunk there than the margarita, and it survives losing the tequila better because grapefruit and salt carry the flavour.

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  • Grapefruit Rosemary Soda

    Bitter, herbal and barely sweet — for people who don't want a sweet drink at all.

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