Salty Chihuahua
Tequila and fresh grapefruit juice over ice with a salt rim. The Salty Dog's tequila cousin and the Paloma's plainer parent — tart, bitter, salty and the easiest tequila highball there is.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Run a lime wedge round half the rim of a highball glass and dip it in salt.
Fill the glass with ice and add the tequila.
Top with grapefruit juice.
Squeeze the lime wedge in, drop it in and stir once.
A thoughtful finish
- Fresh pink grapefruit; the carton version is flat and bitter in the wrong way.
- Half a salt rim lets the drinker choose.
- A splash of soda lengthens it toward a Paloma.
Common mistakes
- Sweetened grapefruit juice.
- No lime; the extra acid is what pulls it together.
- Mixto tequila.
A few good questions.
What does a Salty Chihuahua taste like?
Tart, slightly bitter grapefruit with clean agave and a salt edge — a Paloma without the fizz.
Chihuahua or Paloma?
Juice versus grapefruit soda. The Paloma is sweeter and fizzy.
Chihuahua or Salty Dog?
Same drink with tequila instead of gin or vodka.
Salt or no salt?
The salt is what makes it a Salty Chihuahua; without it, it is just a Chihuahua.
Variations
Where it comes from
c. 1970s · United States
The Chihuahua is tequila and grapefruit juice, a Greyhound with tequila, and the Salty Chihuahua is the same with a salt rim, named on the pattern of the Salty Dog. It is a bar drink of the 1970s and 1980s, from the years when tequila was still a party spirit and grapefruit juice came from a can, and it has outlived its era because the combination works: grapefruit’s bitterness and tequila’s vegetal agave suit each other, and salt makes both taste sweeter. The Paloma is the same idea with grapefruit soda instead of juice. Made with fresh pink grapefruit and a 100% agave blanco it is a serious drink.
Sources
- Difford's Guide, Salty Chihuahua, 2010 (reference)
- Gary Regan, The Joy of Mixology, 2003 (book)
- Liquor.com, Chihuahua, 2019 (reference)
Strength. About 1.33 US standard drinks at an estimated 11.6% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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