Virgin Paloma
Paloma, no tequila
The Paloma without the tequila, and barely diminished for it: fresh grapefruit and lime over agave, lengthened with soda and a salt rim. Crisp, a little bitter, endlessly drinkable.
Ingredients
- 2 oz Grapefruit Juice
- 1/2 oz Fresh Lime Juice
- 1/2 oz Agave Syrup
- 2 oz Soda Water
- 1 pinch Salt optional
Method
Rim a highball glass with salt and fill with ice. Add grapefruit juice, lime juice, and agave syrup. Stir, then top with soda water. Garnish with a lime wedge.
Non-alcoholic adaptation of the Paloma, a modern mocktail without documented individual authorship. The parent Paloma cocktail's origin is disputed; earliest documented references by name appear in 1999 (Beverage Media vol. 75, and Tlaquepaque restaurant, per David Wondrich), with Cowboy Cocktails (Spears & Binns, 2000) confirming a Virgin Paloma variant. The Paloma likely emerged following Squirt grapefruit soda's introduction to Mexico in 1955. Per IBA (New Era list). The Virgin Paloma preserves grapefruit-juice, lime, and salt-rim character while omitting the spirit; it is a Bar Necessities house recipe with no separate documented origin.