La Paloma

 The Paloma (or “La Paloma,” Spanish for “the dove") cocktail is similar to the Margarita, with both cocktails containing tequila. While the Margarita contains Triple Sec, the Paloma contains lime juice and a grapefruit-like soda, such as Squirt or Jarritos or Fresca. Cocktail experts believe that the Paloma highlights the tequila taste better than the Margarita


The Paloma cocktail is popular in Guadalajara, Mexico, and has been popular in the United States since about 2000. It is not known where the drink was first served.



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Paloma By Colleen Graham, About.com
For a refreshing, thirst quenching tequila cocktail, the Paloma is definitely at the top of the list and it’s a favorite in Mexico. It’s a light, fruity drink with a fizz and one of the smoothest tequila drinks out there. Almost any blanco tequila works well in combination with the grapefruit and you may also see this cocktail with grapefruit juice and a splash of soda instead of a grapefruit soda like Squirt.

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Cowboy Cocktails:
Boot Scootin’ Beverages and Tasty Vittles from the Wild West
By Grady Spears, Brigit Legere Binns

Virgin La Paloma
Serves 2
The La Paloma, virtually the national drink of Guadalajra, combines tequila, lemon juice, and Squirt (a vastly under-appreciated carbonated grapefruit beverage that also mixes well with rum).

This variation brings all the excitement without the punch :

1 cups Squirt
Juice of 3 limes (about 3 1/2 ounces)
4 tablespoons granulated sugar

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Lance Cutler, author of “The Tequila Lover’s Guide to Mexico and Mezcal” (Wine Patrol Press, $17.95), said paloma is the only tequila-based cocktail he drinks.

“Here’s the recipe: 
Fill a glass with ice, add a shot of any tequila you want, put in a pinch of salt, squeee a quarter of a lime and toss the wedge into the glass, and fill with Squirt. In Mexico, it’s also made with Fresca, but it’s better with Squirt,” said Cutler.
(...)
Gutierrez, Cutler and others agree that the paloma’s directness offers one distinct advantage over the margarita: In a paloma, the flavor of the tequila is much more pronounced. “The sugar and citric acids in a margarita overwhelm the tequila,” said Gutierrez. “With the paloma you can taste the tequila better.”

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New York (NY) Times

A Touch of Evil
By WILLIAM L. HAMILTON
Published: Sunday, August 3, 2003
(...)
I ordered La Paloma. The cocktail is as basic as a bet: liquor and soda, tequila and Mexican Squirt, which is a grapefruit soda. Squirt is a sweeter, tarter version of citrus sodas like Fresca. (Jarritos is another popular brand.) On the evenings when, I suspect, the staff drinks all the Squirt, Suetos substitutes a blend of grapefruit juice, Grand Marnier and 7Up — a margarita with a couple of extra mariachis.

7 July 2004, Galveston (TX) Daily News, pg. C2, col. 6:
Paloma :
2 oz. Casa Nobkle Reposado
Fresh grapefruit juice
1/2 oz. lime juice
Splash of fizz

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Village Voice (NY)

Green Apple Martinis Are So Two Years Ago . . .
And other riveting revelations from our spring cocktail report
Corina Zappia
Tuesday, April 19th 2005
(...)
Fresh citrus is always a good thing for this cocktail connoisseur, who uses it in their Hüsker Mule (Linie Aquavit, lime juice and shell, ginger beer, Angostura bitters, $10) and the always-popular Paloma (tequila, lime juice, grapefruit soda, and a pinch of salt, $12). “It’s what they drink in Mexico instead of margaritas,” he says.

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The Texas Cowboy Kitchen
By Grady Spears with June Naylor
2007

Pg. 210:
La Paloma
Makes 2 servings
Translated as “the dove,” this Mexican cocktail is perfect for those who like the citrus tang of the margarita rather than the sweetness. Add a fresh sprig of mint if you like.
3 OUNCE TEQUILA
JUICE OF 1 LIME
2 OUNCES FRESH GRAPEFRUIT JUICE
ICE
SPRIG OF MINT
Combine all of the ingredients in a shaker; shake well, and strain into cocktail glasses.

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Mexico - Chowhound

The paloma is a mixed drink: tequila over ice, a pinch of salt, a squeeze of limón, and fill the glass with Squirt, the grapefruit soft drink. Don’t knock it till you try it!
(...)
cristina Feb 09, 2007 11:13PM

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Serious Eats
Time for a Drink: The Paloma
Posted by Paul Clarke, July 27, 2007 at 5:10 PM
(...)
Paloma :
Fill a 10-ounce Collins glass with ice, and add:
2 ounces reposado tequila (be sure to use only 100 percent agave tequila)
The juice of 1/2 a lime
Pinch of coarse salt
The spent lime shell, for garnish
Top with grapefruit soda. Jarritos, from Mexico, works very well, but you can also try the Jamaican brand Ting. If you can’t find a suitable grapefruit soda, use Sprite or the like, and add a squirt of fresh grapefruit juice.

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Pink of Perfection

May 5, 2008
Cinco de Mayo Cocktail Hour: The Paloma Cocktail
(...)
Paloma Cocktail
Serves 1
The traditional Paloma is made with a grapefruit soda like Jarritos or Squirt. My Paloma, inspired by one I sampled at a Mexican restaurant in Brooklyn, uses fresh grapefruit juice and club soda instead. Also, an interesting word about tequila: resposado (rested) tequila has been aged in oak for at least two months. Silver or blanco tequila is unaged, while “gold” tequila is a young tequila with added colorings and flavorings.

1/4 cup reposado or blanco tequila
1/2 cup fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice
squeeze of juice from a lime wedge
club soda
kosher salt

Rim a glass with salt. Mix together tequila, grapefruit and lime juices. Pour over ice and top with club soda.

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Washington (DC) Post

Paloma
The Washington Post, August 20, 2008
In Mexico, Paloma cocktails are more popular than margaritas, and for good reason: Grapefruit flavor mixes perfectly with tequila, better than lime juice alone.

A traditional Paloma is made with a grapefruit soda such as Squirt. But this refreshing version, served at Apothecary in Philadelphia, calls instead for freshly squeezed white grapefruit juice and for club soda, to add fizz.

1 serving
Ingredients:
Ice
2 ounces blanco or silver tequila
3 ounces freshly squeezed white grapefruit juice
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 ounce agave nectar
Sea salt, to rim the glass
1 lime wheel, for garnish
Club soda

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St. Louis (MO) Post-Dispatch

12.09.2008 2:08 pm
The scoop on El Borracho in Downtown West
By Joe Bonwich
P-D Restaurant Critic and Food Writer
(...)
El Borracho will also feature specialty drinks made with fresh-squeezed juices such as the signature Borracho margarita, an exotic avocado-mango margarita, and the Paloma cocktail, a southern Mexican favorite made with Jarritos grapefruit soda.