TAKE A MARGARITA BREAK & SAVE YOUR TEQUILA FOR MY BLACKBERRY PALOMA
If you love a margarita, you’ll fall in love with this blackberry paloma in two seconds flat—and so will all your friends. From the salty rim to the refreshing combination of tequila and lime, this gorgeous drink promises to be the new crowd-pleaser at all your summer gatherings.
What makes this special:
Originating in Mexico, a paloma is a simple tequila-based cocktail, typically made by stirring fresh lime juice with tequila and ice in a glass, then topping it with grapefruit soda. I’ve stayed fairly close to the OG with this blackberry variation: The main difference is the muddled blackberries and simple syrup in the bottom of the glass, which, when mixed with the tequila and lime juice, creates that gorgeous pink color and brings a slight fruitiness to the drink.
The grapefruit soda:
There are tons of grapefruit soda brands on the market, each offering a slightly different mix of sweetness and tang. My personal favorite is Fever-Tree, which is refreshingly fizzy with a slight tang and doesn’t bring too much additional sweetness to the party. Whatever brand you happen to use, I recommend tasting it alone before building your cocktail: If it tastes pretty sweet, you might want to leave out the simple syrup from the base of the cocktail.
Made this? Rate and review it below!
Glassware courtesy of Viski.
Yields: 1 serving
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 2 lime wheels, divided, plus 1 oz. fresh lime juice
- 1/2 oz. simple syrup
- 4 fresh blackberries, divided
- 2 oz. blanco tequila
- Ice
- 3 oz. sparkling grapefruit soda (such as Squirt or Fever Tree)
Directions
- Pour salt onto a small plate. Rub rim of a rocks glass with lime wheel, then dip into salt, turning to coat.
- Add simple syrup and 2 blackberries to prepared glass. Gently muddle until blackberries are mostly broken down. Pour tequila and lime juice over. Fill glass halfway with ice. Top off with soda and gently stir to combine.
- Top with 1 to 2 more blackberries. Garnish with remaining lime wheel.
