I love a Paloma. Summer, winter - no matter what time of year, I can sit down and enjoy that blissful combination of grapefruit and tequila (or mezcal). Is it any wonder it’s Mexico’s favorite cocktail?
Now that we’re getting into solid winter citrus season, I thought I’d share a fun Paloma variation to make with all those juicy pink grapefruits.
The jasmine green tea syrup adds depth and a gentle floral and grassy flavor that pairs beautifully with agave-based spirits. The muddled raspberries add a lovely pink color and emphasize the delicious sweet-tart flavor of the grapefruit juice.
If you prefer mezcal, you can substitute it for tequila, but the smokiness may overpower the subtle jasmine green tea flavors. I’d recommend going with a split base of 1.5 oz tequila to .5 oz mezcal to maintain balance.
I made a rose petal + Himalayan salt rim because I always have a bag of organic dried rose buds on hand (you can get them here), but it’s an optional addition. If you decide to skip the rim, add a tiny dash of salt to the shaker when you’re making the cocktail to brighten up and enhance all the flavors!
Raspberry Jasmine Green Tea Paloma
Ingredients:
- 2 oz tequila blanco
- 2 oz freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice
- 1 oz jasmine green tea syrup*
- ½ oz lime juice
- 3 raspberries
- Club soda
- Pink rose salt** (optional, for rim)
Instructions:
*Jasmine Green Tea Syrup: Brew an extra strong cup of jasmine green tea by combining 2 tea bags with ½ cup of hot water. Steep 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags and stir in ½ cup of sugar. Once the sugar has dissolved, store in a glass bottle or jar in the fridge for up to two weeks.
**Pink Rose Salt: Grind 6 organic dried rose buds (petals only) in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. You can actually just crumble them with your fingers if you don’t mind it containing larger pieces. Add 2 tablespoon of coarse Himalayan pink salt and mix well.
Slice two wedges of grapefruit and reserve one for garnish. Use the other to coat the exterior rim of a double rocks glass and then roll the rim in the Pink Rose Salt mixture (optional). Fill glass with ice.
Muddle raspberries in the bottle of a cocktail shaker. Add remaining ingredients and ice and shake until chilled.
Fine strain into double rocks glass and top with club soda (you could also use a grapefruit flavored seltzer water!) Garnish with a grapefruit wedge.
Raspberry Jasmine Paloma Cocktail
Ingredients
- 3 raspberries
- 2 oz tequila (or mezcal)
- 2 oz grapefruit juice
- 1 oz jasmine green tea simple syrup* (recipe below)
- ½ oz lime juice
- club soda
- pink rose petal salt** (optional, recipe below)
Instructions
- Run a lime or grapefruit wedge along the outside rim of a double rocks or highball glass, then sprinkle on pink rose petal salt. Gently shake off any excess, fill the glass with ice, and set aside.
- In a cocktail shaker, muddle the raspberries, then add the remaining ingredients and fill the shaker three quarters with ice.
- Shake until chilled, then double strain into your rimmed glass and top with chilled club soda.
- Garnish with a grapefruit wedge.
Notes
