The sublime mixture of grapefruit and tequila gets a sweet bump with some muddled strawberries.
I had planted the strawberries a while ago, and they just didn’t want to grow. I used mulch, Miracle Grow, manure… nothing worked. Every day I nurtured and nursed my strawberry bushes. But ‘twas all for naught, for nary a juicy red bauble did appear upon them.
So one afternoon I got annoyed and made myself a cocktail. A Paloma, to be precise. Some lime and grapefruit juice mixed with tequila and topped with club soda… well, after a sip or ten my worries began to subside. I traipsed around my backyard, a little buzzed from one Paloma too many. With a fresh and full cocktail in hand, I contemplated my lack of strawberries and the bushes they were supposed to populate.
As I placed my fists upon my hips, my full Paloma spilled into the soil that my strawberry bushes grew from. Befuddled, I withdrew to my aft chambers—the bathroom—in search of headache medicine. I retired for the night, my brain filled with the laughing, taunting faces of the fruit that refused to grow.
I awoke the next morning to find little tiny strawberries beginning to pop up and grow on the bushes outside. And over time, they blossomed into full-blown plump juicy treats. Was it the Paloma I accidentally spilled that magically caused them to grow? I liked to believe that. So I picked three, muddled them in my shaker and made a Strawberry Paloma in celebration of the joyful event. As I sipped the fizzy, sweet, tangy and tart libation, I looked up the ins and outs of strawberry cultivation from reliable sources on my local library’s app.
It turns out I only needed to wait until my strawberries were in season. Time does indeed make fools of us all.
What is the Best Tequila to Use In a Strawberry Paloma?
Silver tequila mixes up beautifully in this cocktail, neither disappearing nor being too forward. A balanced drink is a refreshing one, and the Strawberry Paloma is both when you choose a blanco spirit for it. Using a reposado or an añejo tequila will add more complexity, as both are aged and carry spicier notes.
Ingredients
- 2 oz. tequila
- 1 oz. fresh lime juice
- 2 oz. fresh grapefruit juice
- 1 oz. simple syrup
- 3 fresh strawberries
- A splash of club soda
- Salt for the rim of the glass if desired
- Ice cubes
Instructions
- Muddle the strawberries in a cocktail shaker. Add the tequila, fresh lime juice, fresh grapefruit juice, and and simple syrup. Fill the shaker with ice.
- Ensure the cocktail shaker’s lid is tightly fixed and shake the mixture vigorously for about 15 seconds. This will thoroughly blend the ingredients together and chill the cocktail.
- Strain the cocktail mixture into a glass that's filled with ice. If you fancy a salty touch, rim the glass with salt before pouring. Top it off with a splash of club soda.
Nutrition
FAQs & Tips
Salt the rim of a highball glass and fill it with ice, then add your Strawberry Paloma to it. Garnish with a sweet slice of the drink’s fruit.
Because of the muddled fruit and carbonated topper, this is a cocktail I’d recommend you prep and serve right away, instead of making days ahead of time. Having this drink fresh is the best way to enjoy it.
Each glass of this tipple will be about 252 calories. Treat yourself, but be mindful too.
You can use Squirt or any other brand of grapefruit soda that you like in place of the club soda, simple syrup, grapefruit and lime juices. This will give you a simpler and more streamlined recipe, but not necessarily better.
Strawberry Paloma Variations
If the mere mention of the word Paloma makes your mouth water, then make sure to poke around our site and check out the plethora of Palomas that Twist & Toast provides recipes for. And after you’ve satisfied that craving, make sure you explore the site for even more tasty libations.
- Paloma – Learn to expertly craft the classic cocktail with this recipe.
- Spicy Paloma – Jalapeños join the Paloma party, making this cool drink nice and hot.
- Smoky Paloma – Mezcal and tequila combine to make this robust and frothy sipper.
- Serrano Paloma – This refreshing tipple gets a little spicy and sweet.
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