The non-alcoholic Paloma

A classic Paloma is two ounces of tequila, half an ounce of lime and a pinch of salt, topped with grapefruit soda in a salt-rimmed highball. Some bartenders use fresh grapefruit juice plus soda water and a little sugar instead of a ready-made soda. Either way, the drink has four parts:

• Tequila brings agave's green, peppery flavor and, with the alcohol, some heat and weight.
• Grapefruit brings bitterness, sourness and fruit. It's the headline flavor, and grapefruit's natural bitterness is what keeps the drink grown-up.
• Lime sharpens it. Grapefruit alone is soft; lime makes it bright.
• Salt ties it together. It softens grapefruit's bitterness and makes the fruit taste juicier.

For a zero-proof Paloma that holds together:

• Keep an agave spirit in it. It's the difference between a Paloma and a grapefruit spritzer.
• Choose a drier soda, or cut a sweet one. Sweetness reads louder without alcohol. Half soda, half soda water is a quick fix.
• Add fresh grapefruit juice. Even half an ounce gives more bitterness and fruit than soda alone.
• Salt twice. A pinch in the glass and salt on the rim.
• Top at the last moment. Carbonation fades fast, and a flat Paloma tastes sweeter.

If you just want a non-alcoholic Paloma can, there's one dedicated option in our catalogue, plus a few close relatives worth keeping in the fridge.

Little Saints Paloma is a canned Paloma: pink grapefruit, a little bitterness and plenty of fizz, with organic reishi. It comes in small 8 oz cans. Pour it over ice in a salt-rimmed glass with a lime wedge. It's light and fizzy; add an ounce of Almave Blanco if you want more agave backbone.

Casamara Club Sera is the closest of the amaro sodas. It's a Riviera-style amaro soda of grapefruit, cinnamon, rhubarb root and chinotto: tart up front with a warm, dry finish. It has the grapefruit bitterness of a Paloma and very little sweetness. Pour it over ice in a salt-rimmed glass with a squeeze of lime. For a proper drink, add two ounces of agave spirit.

Ghia Lime & Salt is Ghia's gentian apéritif with soda, lime and a pinch of salt. Tart, savory and bitter, it takes the lime-and-salt half of a Paloma and leaves the grapefruit out. A splash of fresh grapefruit juice makes it a quick Paloma-ish spritz.

Go Brewing Jab Jab Grapefruit IPA is a non-alcoholic IPA with zesty grapefruit over a hop-forward base. Over ice with a squeeze of lime and a salted rim, it makes a surprisingly good Paloma-style highball for beer drinkers.

Hella Grapefruit Bitters & Soda is unsweetened sparkling water with aromatic bitters and grapefruit. It's truly bitter and has zero sugar, so it's not a drink to sip on its own unless you like bitter things. As a Paloma topper, though, it's excellent; see our Bitter Paloma below.

The tequila

A Paloma is more forgiving of a lighter agave spirit than a margarita, because the soda carries most of the flavor. You still want one, and there's now a good range to choose from.

• Ritual Agave Spirit Alternative is the one our house recipe uses. It's made to mix one-for-one and tastes of agave, lime and a hint of smoke, with a strong peppery warmth. That pepper is useful in a Paloma: it replaces the bite alcohol would bring and cuts through the soda's sweetness. A Ritual Zero Proof Paloma is the simplest version there is: Ritual, lime, salt, grapefruit soda.
• Almave Blanco is distilled from Los Altos blue agave by a tequila master distiller: fresh, green and vegetal, with a little minerality. It makes the cleanest, most tequila-like Paloma on our list, and it's the one to use with a drier soda.
• Lyre's Agave Blanco is bright citrus, roasted agave and pepper. A straightforward, easy-to-find base.
• Seedlip Notas de Agave is prickly pear, lime and agave with vanilla, damiana and peppercorn. It's lighter and greener than the smoky agave alternatives, and a Paloma is where it shines.
• Free Spirits The Spirit of Tequila and ISH Mexican Agave are reposado-style, with oak, vanilla and more burn. They make a rounder, warmer Paloma, good with a sweeter soda.

The mezcal (for a smoky Paloma)

A mezcal Paloma is one of the best versions of the drink, and non-alcoholic mezcal is now a real category rather than a workaround.

• Monday Zero Alcohol Mezcal is floral and peppery on the nose, then dry, with citrus, apple, roasted agave and real smoke and heat. Use it for the whole measure, or split it half and half with a blanco.
• Abstinence Cape Agave is agave, African sage, arabica bean, mesquite smoke and fresh jalapeño: smoky, savory and a little hot. It makes a spicy Paloma with no extra chili needed.
• Fluère Smoked Agave is distilled from real agave with smoked hickory: smoke and honey, then pear, agave and black pepper, ending on eucalyptus and mint.
• St. Agrestis Phony Mezcal Negroni is a bitter Negroni made with smoked nopales cactus. A quarter-ounce in a Paloma adds smoke and bitterness. Any more and the drink turns into an aperitivo.

If you don't have any agave spirit, the fallback is a little more salt, a thin slice of jalapeño in the glass and half an ounce of fresh grapefruit juice. You won't get agave, but you'll get heat and depth.

The grapefruit soda

This is the choice that decides the drink, and the most common question after the tequila. Sweetness reads louder without alcohol, so the drier the soda, the better.

• Q Sparkling Grapefruit is our pick. It's made with Florida grapefruit, tart and a little bitter with only a hint of sweetness, which is what a Paloma needs.
• Fever-Tree Sparkling Pink Grapefruit uses pink grapefruit juice with a touch of sweetness. It's juicier and softer than Q, so add an extra squeeze of lime.
• Top Note Sparkling Grapefruit Soda has ruby red grapefruit juice and peel with cane sugar and lots of fizz: tart, with a candied-peel edge.
• Hella Grapefruit Bitters & Soda is the driest route: no sugar, real bitterness. It needs a quarter-ounce of agave syrup and some fresh grapefruit juice to balance, and then it makes the most grown-up Paloma we know.
• Casamara Club Sera does double duty: grapefruit, bitterness and a dry finish in one can.

Without grapefruit soda

You can make a virgin Paloma with grapefruit juice instead of soda. Use 2 oz fresh grapefruit juice, half an ounce of lime, a quarter-ounce of agave syrup and a pinch of salt, then top with plain soda water. It's fresher and less sweet, and it's how many bartenders make the drink anyway.

The lime, salt and glass

The small parts matter more in a zero-proof Paloma than in the original, because there's no alcohol to smooth over rough edges.

• Lime: half an ounce, freshly squeezed. Bottled lime juice tastes flat and a little bitter, and grapefruit soda won't hide it. If your soda is very sweet, go up to three-quarters of an ounce.
• Salt: a pinch in the glass before the ice, plus coarse salt on half the rim. The pinch in the drink makes the grapefruit taste rounder and the body feel fuller. The half rim lets you choose how salty each sip is. Flaky sea salt, or salt mixed with a little grated grapefruit zest, both work.
• Ice: fill the glass right to the top. More ice melts more slowly, so a full glass stays colder and fizzier for longer than a half-full one.
• Glass: a tall, narrow highball or Collins glass keeps the bubbles in. Chill it first if you can.
• Build, don't shake: add the agave spirit, lime and salt over ice, top with soda, then lift the ice once with a bar spoon. Stirring hard knocks the fizz out.

This is the easy one: agave spirit, lime, salt, soda. It takes two minutes and needs no shaker.

If it tastes too sweet, swap half the grapefruit soda for soda water and add half an ounce of fresh grapefruit juice.

The Bitter Paloma

For people who find most Palomas too sweet. Unsweetened grapefruit bitters soda replaces the regular soda, and a little fresh juice and agave balance it. It's dry and bracing.

The Paloma mocktail pitcher

A Paloma mocktail pitcher recipe is the easiest way to serve a group. Mix the base ahead and keep it cold, then add the soda just before you pour so it stays lively.

The Paloma's main ingredients and shortcuts, compared. Ratings are a rough average of reviews from around the web; see each bottle's page for the sources.

The Paloma is a starting point for a family of long, tart, salty drinks.

• Margarita: the same agave spirit, lime and salt, shaken with an orange liqueur instead of topped with soda. Stronger-tasting and more concentrated.
• Mezcal Paloma: swap the agave spirit for Monday Zero Alcohol Mezcal, or split it half and half with a blanco. Smoke and grapefruit are a classic pairing.
• Spicy Paloma: use Abstinence Cape Agave, which already has jalapeño in it, or muddle a slice of fresh jalapeño in the glass, and rim with chili salt.
• Paloma spritz: build it in a wine glass with half grapefruit soda and half non-alcoholic sparkling wine. Lighter and less sweet.
• Americano: if you like the bitter side of a Paloma, the Americano is the Italian take on a bitter highball.

Palomas are easy for bars to make zero-proof, so they're increasingly common on menus. The best versions come from bars that stock an agave spirit alternative rather than just topping grapefruit soda with lime. A few worth the trip: