Updated July 2, 2026 by George Ciuciureanu, co-founder of Thirsty Bartender.
How do you make a Paloma?
A classic Paloma comes together right in the glass: 1.5 oz tequila, 2 oz freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, 1/2 oz lime juice, and 1/2 oz simple syrup, built over ice in a salt-rimmed highball and topped with about 1 oz of sparkling water. Stir it gently, garnish with a grapefruit slice, and you're sipping within two minutes, no shaker required.
The Paloma is the drink tequila people order when nobody's watching. While the Margarita gets the billboards, the Paloma has quietly been the house pour across Mexico for decades, and for a sensible reason: it's lower in alcohol per glass, longer on the sip, and built for hot afternoons that stretch into evenings. If the Margarita is the friend who arrives loud and gets the party started, the Paloma is the one who shows up in linen, claims the best chair on the patio, and somehow still looks fresh at nine.
Our Paloma Kit arrives at your door with everything already measured and decided: the tequila (Tromba, 1800, or Casamigos Blanco), freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, lime juice, small-batch simple syrup made in Toronto, sparkling water, sea salt flakes, dehydrated grapefruit slices, and a fresh lime for the rim. Yes, the alcohol is included. Order by 5 PM and your place becomes the best bar in the city by tomorrow afternoon.
Paloma vs Margarita: what's the difference?
Both drinks start with tequila and lime, and that's roughly where the family resemblance ends.
The Margarita is a cocktail in the formal sense of the word: shaken hard with orange liqueur and fresh citrus, strained over ice, and landing at roughly 20% alcohol in the finished glass. It's concentrated, it rewards attention, and it asks for a shaker and a little ceremony. We gave it the full treatment in our Casamigos Margarita guide.
The Paloma, on the other hand, is a highball. It's built directly in the glass, lengthened with grapefruit juice and sparkling water, and finishes closer to 8% alcohol, which puts it nearer to a spritz than a shot. The grapefruit carries most of the flavour while the tequila plays a supporting role, and that balance is precisely what makes the drink so easy to stay with over a long evening.
The practical difference matters more than the technical one. You can drink two Palomas across a Toronto patio evening and still hold up your end of the conversation, whereas two Margaritas usually gets you a story. Both are correct answers to different questions, and July in this city asks the Paloma's question far more often.
Fresh grapefruit juice or grapefruit soda?
Most bar Palomas are made with grapefruit soda, usually Squirt, Jarritos, or Fresca, and in fairness the results are perfectly drinkable. Drinkable just isn't the standard we set for a kit with our name on it.
Our kit ships freshly squeezed grapefruit juice alongside separate sparkling water, which means you taste actual grapefruit rather than the artificial citrus wash that grocery aisle soda leans on. The difference is one you already know from orange juice: fresh-squeezed and Sunny D are both recognisably orange, but only one of them tastes like the fruit.
Splitting the juice from the bubbles also hands you control of the finished drink. Pour a little less sparkling water when you want something punchier, a little more when you want a longer sip, and adjust the sweetness without renegotiating the entire recipe. A soda-only Paloma locks you into whatever ratio the bottler settled on years ago.
As for the fruit itself, ruby grapefruit makes the best Paloma, pink runs a close second, and white is tart enough that it needs extra syrup to behave. If you ever find yourself squeezing your own, budget about half a large ruby grapefruit per drink. Or skip the juicing entirely, because we've already done it for you.
The classic Paloma recipe
Yield: 1 cocktail
Prep time: 2 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Glass: Tall highball or large rocks
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz tequila (Tromba, 1800, or Casamigos Blanco)
- 2 oz freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
- 1/2 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/2 oz simple syrup
- About 1 oz sparkling water, to top
- Sea salt flakes, for the rim
- 1 fresh lime wedge, for rimming
- Ice
- Garnish: 1 dehydrated grapefruit slice
Method
- Cut a fresh lime into 8 wedges. Add the sea salt flakes to a small plate and lightly crush with the bottom of a glass.
- Rub a lime wedge around the rim of a tall or large rocks glass, then dip the rim into the crushed salt. One wedge rims about two glasses.
- Fill the glass with ice. Pour in the tequila, grapefruit juice, lime juice, and simple syrup. Stir gently to combine.
- Top with about 1 oz sparkling water and give it one more gentle stir.
- Garnish with a dehydrated grapefruit slice. Serve immediately.
Tip: A jigger keeps the pours honest and a bar spoon lets you stir without flattening the bubbles. Your cocktail shaker can stay in the drawer for this one, because the Paloma has never needed it.
What's in our Paloma Kit
- 750 ml tequila (choose Tromba, 1800, or Casamigos Blanco)
- 946 ml freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
- 237 ml freshly squeezed lime juice
- 237 ml small-batch simple syrup, made in Toronto
- 2 x 330 ml sparkling water cans
- 1 fresh lime, for rimming the glass
- 57 g sea salt flakes
- 16 handmade dehydrated grapefruit slices
- A printed recipe card with ratios calibrated to the kit
The kit comes in three sizes depending on the plan: 4 drinks for a quiet Wednesday on the balcony, 8 drinks with 1800 Tequila or Casamigos Blanco for a Friday night with three friends, and 16 drinks with 1800 or Casamigos Blanco for a proper patio afternoon.
Which tequila: Tromba, 1800, or Casamigos Blanco?
All three options are Blancos, all three were tested in this exact ratio, and all three make a Paloma you'd happily order twice. We stood in the LCBO aisle so you don't have to, and here's what we learned about each bottle along the way.
Tromba comes with the 4-drink kit, and it earns the spot. It's clean, unfussy, and calibrated for the small format, which makes it the right pick when the crowd is two people and the drinks need to be on the balcony within the next ten minutes.
1800 Tequila brings a little more pepper to the finish, which gives the Paloma some backbone and lands the drink closer to what a bartender in Guadalajara would hand you. It's available on the 8-drink and 16-drink kits.
Casamigos Blanco is soft, clean, and almost polite, and in a Paloma that softness pays off more than anywhere else. The tequila stays out of the grapefruit's way, the whole drink turns bright and easy, and the glass tends to empty faster than anyone planned. If you fell for it during Margarita season this summer, this is where it shines. Also available on the 8-drink and 16-drink kits.
Choose based on the plan rather than the label, because there's no wrong door here.
How to serve Palomas to a crowd
The Paloma was never meant to be made in bulk, and neither were our kits. Every drink is built fresh in the glass in about two minutes, which means your guests watch their cocktail come together in front of them, exactly the way it would at the bar they'd otherwise be lining up for. That's the difference between serving drinks and running the best bar in the city out of your kitchen.
Before guests arrive. Rim your highball glasses with sea salt and stage them on a tray, get the sparkling water into the fridge (or the freezer for twenty minutes if it slipped your mind), and set the tequila, juices, and syrup out on the counter in the order you'll pour them. Five minutes of staging turns the counter into a station.
As the night runs. Build each drink to order, straight down the recipe card: ice, tequila, grapefruit juice, lime juice, syrup, a gentle stir, sparkling water to top, grapefruit slice to finish. Two minutes per drink means a round for four people is ready before the conversation moves on, and every glass arrives with its bubbles intact instead of sitting flat in a jug on the table.
The 16-drink kit keeps that station running all evening, and because every pour is measured against the card, the sixteenth drink tastes exactly like the first. If you're hosting something bigger than a round of drinks, our complete guide to hosting a cocktail party in Toronto covers the rest of the night, from glassware math to the playlist call.
Why the Paloma is Toronto's drink this summer
Patio season in this city runs hard from May to September, and the Paloma happens to be built for every version of it.
At a backyard barbecue, where the service window is long and guests arrive in shifts, the Paloma stays crisp for hours, gets along with everything coming off the grill, and resets the palate between courses. On a condo balcony or rooftop, where counter space is scarce and the fridge is already full, the kit fits in the fridge door and the entire drink comes together in one glass, which means nobody has to shake a cocktail over a 30th-floor railing.
And on those long evenings in Leslieville, the Annex, Ossington, King West, or the Junction, when the sun sets late and the patio is where the party lives, the Paloma is the drink that keeps pace with the night. Guests can have two before dinner without slowing anything down, and with the matches still running on screens across the city this month, a drink you can build in two minutes without missing anything is not a small advantage.
On timing: our cutoff is 5 PM for next-day delivery across the GTA, covering Toronto, Mississauga, Etobicoke, Scarborough, North York, Vaughan, and Markham. The grapefruit juice is at its best within five days of arrival, so order the day before the party rather than the week before.
Paloma FAQ
What is a Paloma?
The Paloma is Mexico's most popular tequila cocktail: tequila, grapefruit, lime, a little sweetness, and sparkling water, built over ice in a salt-rimmed highball. It's lighter and longer than a Margarita, and it's traditionally the drink locals order while the tourists order Margaritas.
What tequila is best for a Paloma?
A quality Blanco. Tromba, 1800, and Casamigos Blanco all work well, which is why they're the three options in our kit. Unaged tequila keeps the drink bright and lets the grapefruit lead, whereas Reposado and Añejo bring oak that fights the citrus.
What's the difference between a Paloma and a Margarita?
A Margarita is shaken tequila, lime, and orange liqueur, served up or on the rocks. A Paloma is built in the glass with tequila, grapefruit, lime, syrup, and sparkling water. The Paloma is longer, fizzier, and lower in alcohol per drink.
Is a Paloma strong?
It's gentler than most cocktails. A finished Paloma sits around 8% alcohol, closer to a spritz than to a Margarita's roughly 20%, because the same 1.5 oz of tequila is stretched over a taller, longer glass. That's exactly what makes it the right call for a full afternoon.
Can I use grapefruit soda instead of fresh grapefruit juice?
Yes, and many bars do. Grapefruit soda like Squirt, Jarritos, or Fresca is quicker, but it's sweeter and less grapefruit-forward. Our kit ships fresh grapefruit juice and separate sparkling water because the flavour is noticeably better and you control the fizz and sweetness independently.
How many Palomas does the kit make?
The kit comes in 4-drink, 8-drink, and 16-drink sizes, with every drink measured at 1.5 oz tequila, 2 oz grapefruit juice, 1/2 oz lime juice, 1/2 oz simple syrup, and about 1 oz sparkling water, exactly as the printed recipe card lays it out. Each one is built fresh in the glass, so the last drink of the night tastes like the first.
Do you salt the rim of a Paloma?
Yes. Salt balances the grapefruit's bitter edge and adds a savoury note to each sip. Rub a lime wedge around the rim and dip it into crushed sea salt flakes, and if your guests are split on salt, rim half the glass so every sip is a choice.
Where can I order a Paloma Kit in Toronto?
Order our Paloma Kit before 5 PM and we deliver next day across the GTA. The tequila, fresh grapefruit juice, lime juice, simple syrup, sparkling water, sea salt flakes, dehydrated grapefruit slices, a fresh lime, and a printed recipe card all arrive together, covering Toronto, Mississauga, Etobicoke, Scarborough, North York, Vaughan, and Markham. The alcohol is included.
Sending it as a gift? The Paloma Kit gifts best day-of, because fresh grapefruit juice waits for nobody: pick the delivery date at checkout, add a free gift note, and it arrives cold and ready to pour. For flexible timing, a Thirsty Bartender e-Gift Card lands instantly and lets them choose their own kit. Shopping for someone who just moved? Our housewarming gift guide matches a kit to every friend.
Best served with a west-facing balcony, a fridge door full of grapefruit juice, and no plans until the streetlights come on.