This ruby red Pomegranate Paloma is just the cocktail you need for the holidays! Vibrant, cheerful, sweet, tart, and bubbly.
Deck the halls, it’s time to get Merry Merry with a Pomegranate Paloma cocktail!
A “paloma” if you are unfamiliar with it, is a grapefruit version of a margarita, with lime juice, tequila, and a salt-rimmed glass. (It’s also Spanish for “dove”, which is neither here nor there when it comes to the drink. )
And while I’m partial to everything grapefruit, a tequila/lime/salt combination rocks with pomegranate juice. Stir it up with a rosemary swizzle and now you have a drink that is fully decked out for the holidays in a ruby red coat with a salty white rim.
To make it, all you need is pomegranate juice, some quality white tequila, lime juice, simple syrup, and a salted rim glass. Top it off with club soda for bubbles, and give it a turn with a sprig of rosemary for the full effect.
Full disclosure, I developed this recipe for a recipe contest at my college reunion (and won! ). Since the college team name is the cardinal (color, not bird or priest), we named the drink “the Cardinal Sin”. It was the hit of the reunion!
If you would like to make an alcohol-free version of this drink, substitute the tequila with orange juice, and leave out the salt rim.
Pomegranate Paloma Recipe
Make simple syrup by simmering together equal parts white granulated sugar and water. If you are only making one of these drinks and don’t have simple syrup made, just dissolve a teaspoon of sugar into the pomegranate and lime juices.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup pomegranate juice
- 2 Tbsp lime juice
- 2 teaspoons simple syrup
- 3 Tbsp (1 1/2 oz) white tequila (I’m using Piedra Azul Blanco, 100% agave)
- 1/4 cup club soda
- Kosher salt for glass rim
- Sprig rosemary for garnish
Method
1 Salt the glass: Brush the rim of an 8 ounce glass with lime juice, then dip the rim into kosher salt. Put ice in the glass.
2 Mix the drink: Stir together the pomegranate juice, lime juice, simple syrup, and tequila.
3 Pour into glass: Pour the mixture into the salt-rimmed glass. Top with club soda. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary
