You’ll Be Singing My Paloma
People love margaritas. And, with Just cause. But, did you know the Margarita has a cousin that Mexican’s, generally, prefer? Well, it’s world Paloma day. Time to meet that cousin. The Spanish word Paloma translates to pigeon or dove. But, more than that, it’s another citrus drink with tequila. In its simplest form, a Paloma is Tequila and Grapefruits soda. A salted rim and/or lime may be added. So, it’s pretty much a grapefruit margarita. But, the La Paloma song has more lyrics than tequila (and it’s in Spanish). That’s too complicated. So, instead, after a few Palomas, you could start changing the words weird Al’s nine coronas and You’ll Be Singing My Paloma.
Since it’s usually made with Grapefruit soda, it’s an easy cocktail, like Gin and tonic. And, if you aren’t familiar with grapefruit soda, maybe the names Fresca, Squirt or Jarritos may jog your memory. They are grapefruit sodas, often compared to sprite. While Grapefruit may be a bit bracing for some. Others find it quite refreshing. And, grapefruit has a long history in cocktails as well. Take the greyhound or salty dog for example. Originally made with gin and grapefruit juice, vodka became the liquor of choice. So, think of a paloma as a greyhound with tequila instead of vodka or gin. The salty dog was a gin greyhound with a salted rim. Sound familiar? Salting drinks like tequila and gin was a method of disguising cheap quality booze.
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With some tequila, You’ll Be Singing My Paloma
While a margarita is usually heavy on the booze and light on the mixers, Palomas are lighter and refreshing. If you don’t have grapefruit soda, you can use grapefruit juice and club soda. The soda gives that effervescence that makes for a good hot weather drink. It also allows for a name change. Instead of being a grapefruit margarita, it’s now a paloma. It’s kind of like a tequila sunrise not being an ornage margarita by adding grenadine. Similarly, a cantarito is a paloma with orange, lemon, and lime juices instead of grapefruit. But, the important part is the tequila. And, if you don’t like or have an allergy to citrus, you’re pretty much SOOL. You get straight tequila. So, make sure it’s a good one.
Both margaritas and palomas capitalize on the fact that tequila and citrus are a superior combination. You don’t see a lot of cream based tequila drinks. That’s because, it’s not a very good match. And, there are hundreds of citrus varieties throughout the world. Most people are only familiar with 4: Lemon, lime, orange, and grapefruit. Perhaps we can change up the nargarita or paloma with some of them. How about kumquat, yuzu, or Buddha hand? maybe bergamont, citron, or satsuma? These are all good choices and things we can experiment with. But, for now, it’s about the big 4. Since it’s paloma day, the grapefruit gets it’s moment in the spotlight. No need to detract from that. Although, we can definitely add to it.
We can’t make it too easy
While we want you to have an easy time with recipes, people often just get lazy to simplify things. How many times have you seen a 3 ingredient cookie recipe or 4 ingredient dinner? The modern version paloma is an example of that: tequila and grapefruit soda. So, we let someone else mix the soda, sugar, and grapefruit. Is it really that hard? We want you to taste the freshness. Use real ingredients, and balance them yourself. I’ve seen products called paloma mix in a fancy bottles for ridiculous money. Really? You could buy a 99 cent can of fresca or pay $10 for the “mix”. Are we really that lazy and/or gullible? Do yourself a favor. get some grapefruit juice or squeeze your own.
I get it, though, you don’t want a lot of extra grapefruit juice hanging around. After all, it’s not the most popular drink. You could get smaller cans or bottles. Of course, we prefer fresh squeezed or not from concentrate. And, if you have leftover, you could make a simple glaze to put on fish, shrimp, or chicken by reducing the juice with some sugar. And, it will hold in the fridge longer than the fresh juice. So, if you can juice your own grapefruits, do it. Or buy the best quality you can get. For the sparkle, you can use club soda, a soda stream machine, or if you really want to boost the booze experience, you could even add sparkling wine. Just saying. Then, You’ll Be Singing My Paloma for sure.
So, here’s your recipe:
Of course, we have to put a little twist on it too. remember all those citruses we were talking about? Yeah, they’re going in after all. Feel free to experiment and change things around. If you don’t want the spice, just leave it out. You can also skip the kumquats or use another fruit if desired or they aren’t available. Our recipe may be classified as fusion. As much as I hate the term fusion, here you go…
Now start singing My Paloma (don’t you hate those ear-worms?).
Spicy Paloma with Candied Kumquat
Ingredients
- 1 pint Kumquat
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1 Quart Water
- 8 Ounces Tequila
- 1 small Jalapeno
- 1 Pint Grapefruit juice
- 1/4 Cup Agave syrup
- 1 pint Sparkling Wine or club soda
- Ice
- For garnish:
- 1/4 Cup Sugar, preferably large grain for rimming glasses
- 1/2 tsp Chili powder
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Candy the Kumquats. Bring sugar and water to a boil and mix until dissolved. Add the kumquats and return to a simmer. Cook down until the kumquats are softened and the liquid becomes a syrup that coats them. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Mix the sugar and chili powder to rim glasses. moisten the rims of four glasses and dip in the sugar mix to make a nice coating.
- Chop the jalapeno, just the skin, no seeds. You want about 1 tsp. Muddle the jalapeno, 1/2 of the kumquats, and agave syrup until well blended in a large pitcher. Add in the ice, tequila, and grapefruit juice. Mix well. Add in the sparkling wine or club soda and stir sparingly, so as not to lose the carbonation. Pour into the rimmed glasses. garnish with lime wedges and more of the candied kumquats.