Simple cocktails = a blank canvas for the inventive mixologist. They’re also approachably appealing for consumers at home or for anyone looking to enjoy a less-potent potable. After all, something with just three ingredients is easier to customize to suit any sipping preference.
Enter: the Paloma, Mexico’s other signature cocktail. The easy-going drink, technically a spritz, has a bit of a muddled origin story. There were rumors of an American bartender, Evan Harrison, whose pamphlet “Popular Cocktails of the Rio Grande,” purported to be the origin, but that proved to be a marketing stunt gone too far. Many industry folks now point to Don Javier Delgado Corona as the Paloma's creator — a bartender in Tequila, Mexico, Don Javier was already noted for his cola/tequila/lime juice cocktail known as the Batanga.
But where the Paloma came from is not nearly as important as where it’s going.
As a quick-mixing, simple serve, it’s been making progressively bigger waves across the United States (and beyond) for a few years now.
“The Paloma cocktail has been gaining quite a lot of popularity, partly due to its refreshing taste and how it appeals to a wide range of palates,” says Cian Wrynne, On-Premise Development Manager for The Shed Distillery of PJ Rigney in Ireland.
“While on my travels, I have found post-pandemic, there’s been a growing interest in cocktails that are easy to make at home with simple ingredients, and the Paloma fits the bill perfectly.”
DC-area mixologist and US Sherry Week ambassador Chantal Tseng agrees.
“The Paloma can be as simple or as complex as a bartender or mixologist feels like,” she says. “It's still tasty as long as you're using good ingredients. So whether you're building your highball with grapefruit soda, lime, and tequila or you are fresh-squeezing grapefruit, brewing up a house-spiced soda to siphon or adding any fun savory salt tinctures or rims ... you'll end up with a highly crushable and delicious drink.”
