Most grapefruit sodas are sweeter than a Paloma needs. Our Blood Orange Pomegranate Paloma puts the flavor in the shaker instead. Blood orange gives it body, unsweetened pomegranate dries out the finish, and the soda goes on last, just enough for fizz.
We cut the Tajín rim with sugar and run it down one side of the glass, so the chile never buries the fruit.
What Is a Blood Orange Pomegranate Paloma Cocktail?
Quick Answer: A Blood Orange Pomegranate Paloma is a fruit-forward take on the classic Paloma. Blanco tequila is shaken with fresh blood orange juice, pomegranate juice, lime, and agave, strained over crushed ice, and topped with grapefruit soda. A half rim of Tajín and sugar finishes the glass.
Paloma is Spanish for dove, and nobody can tell you for certain why the drink carries the name. Its history has been muddied more than most. For years, the internet credited a 1953 pamphlet called Popular Cocktails of the Rio Grande by an Evan Harrison. Cocktail researchers went looking and concluded the book almost certainly never existed. The citation traces back to a 2012 Wikipedia edit. The other favorite origin story points to Don Javier Delgado Corona of La Capilla, the bar in the town of Tequila, Jalisco. According to Jim Meehan, Don Javier has denied inventing it. His famous drink is the Batanga.
What is documented is the soda. Squirt, the grapefruit soda invented in Phoenix in 1938, was crossing into Mexico by the mid-1950s, and drinks historian David Wondrich has turned up a 1950 Squirt ad showing tequila poured with it. The drink just didn’t get its name into print until the late 1990s. The Paloma looks like what it probably is: an everyday highball people made for decades before anyone bothered to write it down.
What you’ll love about this recipe:
What You Need to Make a Blood Orange Pomegranate Paloma Cocktail
How to Make a Blood Orange Pomegranate Paloma Cocktail
- Mix the Tajín and sugar on a small plate. Run a lime wedge along one side of the outside of each glass, starting at the rim and dragging it partway down. Press the wet section into the Tajín sugar.
- Fill both glasses generously with crushed ice.
- Add the tequila, pomegranate juice, blood orange juice, lime juice, and agave syrup to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake hard for 10 to 15 seconds, until the shaker feels very cold.
- Strain into the prepared glasses and top each with grapefruit soda.
- Garnish with a dried blood orange wheel and a citrus peel twist.
Expert Recipe Tips
- Start with less soda. Grapefruit sodas vary a lot in sweetness. Pour two ounces, taste, then decide. A slightly tart soda works best here, since agave, pomegranate, and blood orange already bring plenty of sugar.
- Never shake the soda. Everything still goes in the shaker. The bubbles go in the glass at the end, or you’ll lose the fizz before the first sip.
- Rim before you ice. Do the Tajín side first, then fill the glass. Ice chills the outside and makes condensation, which turns a clean rim into a red, runny streak.
- Make your own dried wheels. Slice blood oranges thin, lay them on a parchment-lined sheet, and dry them in a low oven for a few hours, flipping once, until they’re crisp and the color glows. Store them in an airtight jar. They keep for weeks and work for every citrus drink on the bar cart.
- Adjust the agave last. Taste the shaken mix before it hits the glass. If your blood oranges are especially sweet, pull the agave back to a quarter ounce per drink.
How to Serve This Blood Orange Pomegranate Paloma Cocktail
A tall highball or Collins glass, packed with crushed ice, half-rimmed so the color shows through the clean side. The dried wheel goes on top, the twist goes in.
This is a patio drink and a dinner-party drink, and it holds its own next to big flavors. Put it alongside tacos al pastor, grilled shrimp, ceviche, or anything with chile and char. For a group, set out a plate of the Tajín sugar and let everyone rim their own glass.
More Cocktail Recipes
If the Paloma has you reaching for the tequila bottle, keep going. Try our Spicy Margarita if you want more heat, the Cadillac Margarita for a top-shelf pour, or browse our full collection of tequila cocktails for the rest of the agave shelf.
Blood Orange Pomegranate Paloma Recipe
Equipment
- 2 highball or Collins glasses
- Cocktail shaker and strainer
- jigger
- Small plate for the rim
Ingredients
For the Tajín sugar rim
- 2 tablespoons Tajín
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 lime wedge
For the Palomas
- 4 ounces blanco tequila
- 2 ounces pomegranate juice
- 2 ounces fresh blood orange juice
- 1 ounce fresh lime juice
- 1 ounce agave syrup
- Crushed ice to fill 2 glasses
- 4 to 6 ounces chilled grapefruit soda
For the garnish
- 2 dried blood orange wheels
- 2 grapefruit or orange peel twists
Instructions
- Mix the Tajín and sugar on a small plate. Run the lime wedge along one side of the outside of each glass, starting at the rim and dragging it partway down. Press the moistened section into the Tajín sugar.
- Fill the glasses generously with crushed ice.
- Add the tequila, pomegranate juice, blood orange juice, lime juice, and agave syrup to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake firmly for 10 to 15 seconds, until the shaker feels very cold.
- Strain into the glasses and top with grapefruit soda.
- Garnish each glass with a dried blood orange wheel and a citrus peel twist.
Notes
For a drier, less sweet drink, swap the grapefruit soda for grapefruit sparkling water and adjust the agave to taste.
Grapefruit sodas vary in sweetness. Start with the smaller amount and add more to taste.
Recipe FAQs
Straight Tajín can take over a fruit-forward cocktail because it hits with salt, chile, and acid all at once. Sugar softens it so the rim seasons the drink instead of fighting it.
Can I use regular oranges instead of blood oranges?
Yes. Fresh navel or Valencia orange juice works. You’ll lose the deep red color and some of the berry note, but the pomegranate still carries plenty of color and tartness.
A 100% agave blanco. Its bright, peppery agave flavor stands up to the citrus. A reposado will work in a pinch, but the oak and vanilla soften the edges this drink needs.
Combine the tequila, juices, and agave in a pitcher and refrigerate for up to a few hours. When guests arrive, shake each serving with ice, or stir the pitcher well and pour over crushed ice, then top with soda in the glass. Never add soda to the pitcher.
Use grapefruit sparkling water instead of soda and cut the agave to a quarter ounce per drink. You’ll end up with a tart, dry highball that lets the tequila come through.
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