Forbidden fruit: the dangerous allure of the classic paloma

At time of writing, we’re either experiencing yet another false spring or it truly, mercifully, has finally sprung. Reading this in the future, you’ll be able to confirm or deny whether this spurt of sunshine lasts, but allow me a little false hope. As the season turns, so invariably does my mind, from the high-alcohol, shorter, warm-your-cockles style of cocktails, towards spritzy long things, topped with ice and sucked with enthusiasm through a straw. What I’m saying is, it’s time for a Paloma.

Paloma is Spanish for “dove”, but it could be a riff on pomelo, meaning grapefruit – the drink’s defining flavour. Mexico’s national cocktail is a tequila-based drink – think of it as the margarita’s taller sibling. At its most simple, it’s a two-ingredient cocktail: tequila and grapefruit soda. The International Bar Association’s recipe is 50ml tequila, a squirt of lime and 100ml of grapefruit soda, with salt.

As ever, there are variations. Besides the tequila – of which different styles are favoured by different mixologists, depending on whether they want it smoky and complex or neutral and smooth – the grapefruit component is also where you’ll see a little variation. Most often here, I see Fever Tree grapefruit behind the bar, but sometimes there’s fresh grapefruit topped up with soda. In bars in Mexico, it’s likely to be a soft drink such as Squirt or Jarritos.

The simple recipe and good fizz means the Paloma is a no-brainer for the ready-to-drink category. The success of hard seltzers (a combination of sparkling water, alcohol and flavourings) has seen brands like White Claw become a go-to for festival and sunny-weather partygoer s. Palomas translate well to a tinned format, easy to be tossed in a handbag and taken anywhere. Moth’s Paloma is a particular favourite, but there are also a few 0%s to be found. Pentire is a good shout for this.

But grapefruit can bring an issue. There are those among us who adore the bitter zing, but whose medical situations don’t allow for it. We’re all reading between the lines here: who among us has not experienced the side effects of the basic SSRI? Whether they’ve worked for you or not, one thing unites our experience: grapefruit is forbidden.

So, for the hundreds of you (I’m not exaggerating) who drink sparingly on SSRIs (or have other medications affected), and got in touch asking me to report back on my search for a Paloma alternative, I asked Felice Capasso, who was named World Class Bartender of the Year 2025, for a grapefruit-free recipe to mimic the drink’s appeal. He recommends using mandarin as an alternative to grapefruit’s freshness and just-enough sweetness. Mandarin behaves a little differently: it’s softer, more aromatic and sweeter, so needs a little bitter assistance.

So, to a highball glass with ice, add 35ml of good quality agave tequila, 60ml of mandarin juice, 10ml of umeshu plum liqueur, 5ml of Italian bitter (such as Campari), a squeeze of lime and top with soda. The bitter adds the dryness missing from the naturally sweet mandarin, umeshu rounds it out and the classic Paloma lime keeps it sharp. Refreshing, long and effervescent, if it’s not the drink of summer, it’s certainly the drink of my false spring.