Here at Petac, the Paloma is a favorite cocktail for both lazy afternoons spent poolside and lively dinner parties on the patio. Considered the official drink of Guadalajara, it is preferred by most throughout Mexico to the elsewhere-esteemed margarita. Light and fresh, the cocktail's tartness cuts right through even the most oppressive summer heat.
Spanish for "the dove," it is said that the cocktail was named after the "La Paloma," a popular folk song written in the 1860s. Many credit the legendary Don Javier Delgado Corona, owner of the beloved bar La Capilla ("the chapel") with the drink's invention. Running the small cantina in the town of Tequila since the 1950s, Don Javier is likely responsible for many a thirst-quenching cocktail popular in Mexico.
Regardless of its inception, variations on the Paloma have been many over the past sixty years. Its simplicity lends itself to expansion and adaptation and so Palomas are now often made spicy or herbal, fizzy or flat, elaborate or classic. A very common version is made with one of several popular grapefruit sodas available here in the Yucatan.
At Petac, though, as we do with cooking, we like to craft cocktails with the freshest ingredients available, so our recipe includes fresh juices. We also like tradition, so the recipe we use is in the classic Paloma style. An easy drink to make, it is even easier to make a second and third.
Bless you!
Ingredients for the Petac Paloma:
– 2 oz. Silver Tequila
– 3 oz. Fresh Squeezed Grapefruit Juice
– 1/2 oz. agave nectar
– 1/2oz. Fresh Lime
– Club soda float
Steps:
– Combine tequila, grapefruit juice, agave nectar and lime
– Fill shaker halfway with ice
– Shake 10 seconds
– Pour into iced tall glass
– Top with club soda
– Garnish with lime
