Paloma (cocktail)

The paloma (Spanish for "dove") is a tequila-based cocktail. This drink is most commonly prepared by mixing tequila, lime juice, and a grapefruit-flavored soda such as Fresca, Squirt, or Jarritos and served on the rocks with a lime wedge. Adding salt to the rim of the glass is also an option.

Alternatively, the grapefruit soda can be replaced with fresh white or red grapefruit juice (jugo de toronja) and club soda (sugar optional).

A simple paloma is a two-ingredient cocktail consisting only of tequila and grapefruit-flavored soda. A more complex variant of the Paloma is the cantarito, which in addition to lime juice, also has lemon juice and orange juice.

The paloma is more flavorful than its closest relative, the greyhound, which consists of grapefruit juice and either gin or vodka mixed and served over ice.

Some believe the name of the cocktail comes from the Spanish for "dove", but others suspect the name comes from a derivation of the word pomelo, which is the Spanish for "grapefruit".