This recipe was first published as part of our Get to know feature on the The Paloma.
60ml Tequila
15ml Lime juice
Grapefruit soda
Soda water (optional)
Quality salt (optional)
Prepare a highball glass by moistening the rim with a lime wedge and dipping in salt. Build the drink over ice. Garnish with a lime wedge – or a grapefruit twist if you are feeling fancy. Blanco and reposado are equally good in this. Mexicans sometimes cut the sweetness by diluting the grapefruit soda with a dash of soda water.
Try to ensure salt sticks only to the outside of the glass, since any inside the glass can fall into the drink and make it too salty. For a fancy touch you could use an attractive pink salt – eg Himalayan or Hawaiian rock salt. In Mexico itself the salt is not de rigueur, and many drinkers prefer it without. Some more cocktailian bartenders favour a restrained pinch of salt in the drink over rimming the glass with salt.
