Virgin Paloma
Grapefruit, lime, a little agave and soda over ice with a salted rim. The Paloma without tequila — bitter, salty, bright, and the best alcohol-free 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.
Salt half the rim of a collins glass and fill it with ice.
Add the grapefruit juice, lime juice and agave syrup.
Top with cold soda water and stir gently.
Garnish with a grapefruit wedge.
A thoughtful finish
- Fresh grapefruit juice is the difference. Bottled juice is flat and sweet; fresh has the bitterness that makes the drink.
- The salt rim matters more here than in most drinks — salt tames grapefruit's bitterness and replaces the tequila's edge.
- A pinch of salt stirred in, instead of or as well as the rim, does the same job less visibly.
Common mistakes
- Grapefruit soda alone over ice. That is a soft drink; the lime and salt turn it into a Paloma.
- Too much agave. Grapefruit's bitterness is the point; sweeten it only to balance.
- Serving it without enough ice. It is a long, cold drink.
A few good questions.
Grapefruit juice or grapefruit soda?
Fresh juice with soda water is the better drink; a good grapefruit soda is the quicker, more traditional one. Either is a Virgin Paloma.
Pink or white grapefruit?
Pink is sweeter and prettier; white is more bitter and more interesting. Both work.
Can I add a non-alcoholic spirit?
Yes — an agave-style alcohol-free spirit at an ounce and a half makes it very close to the real thing.
Is it good with mezcal?
With mezcal it is a Mezcal Paloma, and one of the best drinks there is. This page is the version without.
Variations
- Paloma — With tequila.
- Mezcal Paloma — With mezcal.
- Virgin Margarita — Lime and orange with a salt rim.
- Salty Dog — Gin or vodka with grapefruit and a salt rim.
Where it comes from
c. 2010s · Mexico and the United States
Contested. More than one origin is claimed for this drink. We show the competing accounts rather than pick one.
The Paloma — tequila and grapefruit soda — is Mexico’s everyday tequila drink, and its alcohol-free version has existed for as long as grapefruit soda has, which in Mexico means the 1950s. The bar version, with fresh grapefruit juice, lime, agave and soda, dates to the craft-cocktail era and the 2010s push for serious alcohol-free drinks. Grapefruit is the reason it works so well without spirit: it is bitter, sour and aromatic at once, and does a fair impression of what the tequila would have contributed. No inventor; it is a way of drinking grapefruit.
Sources
- Julia Bainbridge, Good Drinks, 2020 (book)
- Derek Brown, Mindful Mixology, 2022 (book)
- Difford's Guide, Paloma, 2015 (reference)
A little character in every sip.
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