The Paloma Takes Flight

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Do You Even Paloma? The Many Origins and Identities of the Do-It-All Drink In its most basic form, the Paloma is a two-part combo of tequila and grapefruit soda. But its effortless template means it’s the source of both endless inspiration and endless controversy. Team Squirt or Fresca? Can you ditch the artificial soda for fresh juice, or even up the ante with techniques like clarification and force carbonation? Writer Greg Benson digs into the many identities of the iconic Mexican highball.

Mírate's Paloma Is a Revelation

Credits

Co-founders Joshua Malin Adam Teeter Editorial Taylore Glynn Tim McKirdy Joanna Sciarrino Reporting Greg Benson Aaron Goldfarb Rich Manning Art Direction Danielle Grinberg Design Sara Pinsonault Illustrations Shira Inbar Shin-Yeon Moon Photography Jeff Brown Shelby Moore

Art Direction Danielle Grinberg Design Sara Pinsonault Illustrations Shira Inbar Shin-Yeon Moon Photography Jeff Brown Shelby Moore

But don’t let its simplicity fool you. It can be conveniently lowbrow, calling on grapefruit soda, consistent and classic. At the other end of the spectrum, its riffable build can be upended and upgraded to radical heights — clarified, acid-adjusted, carbonated, the works. You can sip it at a dive or a cocktail bar, poured from a draft or a water-cooler spigot. All iterations are satisfying, and that’s the key to the Paloma’s success. It may not be the most popular tequila cocktail, but with such an outrageously versatile template, it’s well on its way to universal veneration.

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The Paloma is the Ultimate Batched Cocktail

"Years of throwing parties and get-togethers in and around my Brooklyn residence had taught me that just about everybody loves a crushable tequila cocktail," notes VinePair writer-at-large Aaron Goldfarb. Thus began a journey of realization that the Paloma is the ultimate large-format cocktail for day-drinking and parents parties in the park.

Clarify The cordial mix takes a spin in the Booker & Dax Spinzall centrifuge to separate the liquid from the fruit solids.

Carbonate Once the cordial is made, the drink is batched and chilled down. Then comes carbonation. The addition of carbon dioxide concentrates the drink's flavors and makes them more pronounced.

Shake Reis shakes the bottle to distribute the carbon dioxide evenly. He closes the bottle and reopens it 20 minutes later, purging any bubbles that may have formed along the way. He repeats this process three times before putting it in the fridge overnight.

Can Reis finishes off the process by canning the drinks to help keep the carbonation fully intact.

Paint He slathers each rim with a streak of salted pulque that's thickened and dyed white. "It almost looks like Elmer's glue," he says.

Spray Reis spritzes the glass with a mix of culinary-grade grapefruit essential oil and food-grade ethanol, a tactic that mimics the expression of oil from a grapefruit peel.

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Level Up: The Paloma,Three Ways If you think you know this popular pink cocktail, think again. With the help of three acclaimed New York City bartenders, this classic libation has entered a new stratosphere. Try out one of their custom recipes and get ready for lift-off.

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Prep Cordial Reis' Squirt cordial, the base of his Paloma, starts with clarified grapefruit juice, a process that intensifies its acidity.

The Paloma is a simple cocktail. Mix together tequila, grapefruit, and lime and that's pretty much it.

Serve The can is opened and poured into the waiting glass – a perfectly fizzy, refreshing Paloma.

The Paloma's simplicity is one of its best assets, but Mírate beverage director Max Reis gives the classic a highbrow makeover in the Tu Compa: a clarified stunner that takes three full days to make. Writer Rich Manning takes a peek behind the curtain at the acclaimed L.A. restaurant and agave bar for a step-by-step breakdown of the radical cocktail.

Making the Tu Compa is arduous and time consuming, but Reis doesn't mind the effort. He knows he's creating an intentionally elaborate take on a simple beverage. "At the end of the day, it's just a simple Mexican highball," he says. "It's an unfussy drink. Ours just happens to be fussy."