Paloma Mezcalita

A Paloma Mezcalita is the mash-up to end all mash-ups. It’s the grapefruit of a paloma, the orange liqueur and lime of a margarita, and the mezcal and orange juice of a mezcalita. The end result is a party! So come celebrate Margarita Week with me by mixing up a twist of three of my all-time favorite classic cocktails.

Watch me Mix a Paloma Mezcalita

How to Make a Paloma Mezcalita

1. (Optional) Rim two rocks glasses with salt or Tajín.
2. Add mezcal, lime juice, orange liqueur, and grapefruit juice to a shaker.
3. Fill with ice and shake hard.
4. Strain over fresh ice in your prepared glasses.
5. Top each cocktail with 2 oz grapefruit soda per glass.
6. Garnish and enjoy!

A Classic Paloma

Every time I sip a paloma I think, “Damn, why don’t I make these more often?!” Here’s everything you need to know to make more palomas.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz tequila blanco
• 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
• 3–4 oz grapefruit soda (Jarritos or Squirt work great)
• Pinch of salt
• Ice
• Optional: salted or Tajín rim + grapefruit or lime wedge

Instructions:

• (Optional) Salt or Tajín rim your glass.
• Fill glass with ice.
• Add tequila, lime juice, and a small pinch of salt.
• Top with grapefruit soda.
• Give it a quick, gentle stir.
• Garnish and enjoy!

A Classic Mezcalita

The Mezcalita is a smoky, juicy riff on the classic margarita. It’s made with mezcal instead of tequila (obviously) and has some added orange juice on top of the orange liqueur and lime juice. Everyone really need to be making more mezcalitas this year.

Paloma Mezcalita Ingredients

Mezcal

Let’s think of mezcal as tequila’s rebellious cousin. Where tequila must be made from blue agave, mezcal can be made from any variety of agave, even wild varieties! What truly sets it apart is that it’s made with the agave hearts and is roasted in pits, giving it that characteristic smoky flavor and aroma. It’s then fermented and distilled in copper or clay pots. Unlike tequila, mezcal is not a spirit I would ever take a shot of, but it’s perfect for mixing into cocktails like a Paloma Mezcalita!

Fresh lime juice

Always always always use fresh-squeezed citrus juice in your cocktails! With so few ingredients, you want the ones you do use to be the best of the best.

Orange liqueur

Orange Liqueur, like triple sec (try Cointreau) or Grand Marnier, is a quintessential margarita AND mezcalita ingredient. Since we’re making a Paloma Mezcalita, we need some orange liqueur here, too. It keeps that classic margarita/mezcalita backbone and marries perfectly with the orange juice and grapefruit juice.

Fresh grapefruit juice

See my sentiments above for what I said about the lime juice. Fresh or I don’t want it!

Grapefruit soda

Grapefruit soda really amps up the paloma vibes. It makes it a little fizzy, which is just a fun twist on the classic cocktails we’re mashing up here. I recommend using Jarritos or Squirt.

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Paloma Mezcalita

Time to make: 5 minutes minutes

A juicy grapefruity margarita with mezcal is exactly what Margarita Week is all about.

Print Recipe

Servings 2

Ingredients

• 4 oz. mezcal
• 1.5 oz. fresh lime juice
• 1.5 oz. orange liqueur
• 2 oz. fresh grapefruit juice
• 4 oz. grapefruit soda (2 oz. per drink)
• Ice

Instructions

• (Optional) Rim two rocks glasses with salt or Tajín.
• Add mezcal, lime juice, orange liqueur, and grapefruit juice to a shaker.
• Fill with ice and shake hard.
• Strain over fresh ice in your prepared glass.
• Top each drink with 2 oz grapefruit soda per glass.
• Garnish and enjoy!

Xoxo, cheers!