Looking for the best homemade Mezcal Paloma cocktail recipe?
Our quick & easy Frozen Paloma Slushie drink features smoky mezcal, grapefruit juice, lime juice, simple syrup, ice, and kosher salt.
All of the ingredients are combined in a blender until a smooth slushy consistency is achieved.
We love serving this Mexican Mezcal Paloma in the summer at our cottage dock in Muskoka or on a patio in Toronto. On a hot day it’s a truly refreshing boozy slushie beverage!
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What Is Mezcal?
Mezcal is a distilled alcoholic spirit made from any type of maguey.
The word mezcal comes from Nahuatl mexcalli, which means “oven-cooked agave”, from metl and ixcalli.
Agaves or magueys are endemic to Mexico. More than 70% of mezcal is made in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, but is nowadays produced and commercialized across the country.
Mezcal is still made from the heart of the agave plant, called the piña, in much the same way as it was 200 years ago. In Mexico, mezcal is generally consumed straight and has a strong smoky flavour.
Though other types of mezcal are not as popular as tequila (made specifically from the blue agave in select regions of the country), Mexico does export the product, with popularity in Japan, Canada and the United States growing.
So what’s the difference between mezcal and tequila?
Both Mexican spirits are distilled from agave, a plant that looks like a giant pineapple. Whereas mezcal can be made from any of several dozen species, tequila relies on just one, the blue agave, accounting for some of its flavour peculiarities.
You can prepare a Frozen Paloma Cocktail with smoky mezcal or smooth tequila.
Best Mezcal For Cocktails
We recommend sipping a variety of mezcal and tequila brands in order to find your favourite. Each brand has a unique method for harvesting agave, distilling and aging & barreling the final product.
Here are the world’s top selling mezcal brands worthy of being muddled into a Frozen Paloma Slushie:
- Bozal Mezcal Ensamble
- Mezcal El Silencio – Espadin
- Del Maguey Chichicapa Mezcal
- Ilegal Mezcal Anejo
- Montelobos Tobalá
- Mezcal Rey Campero Tepextate
- Casamigos Joven
- The Lost Explorer Mezcal Espadin
- Santo Mezquila
- Tierra de Canto Mezcal
What Is A Frozen Paloma?
The Paloma (Spanish for “dove”) is a tequila-based cocktail from Mexico. This drink is most commonly prepared by mixing tequila, lime juice, and a grapefruit-flavored soda such as Fresca, Squirt, or Jarritos and served on the rocks with a lime wedge. Many bartenders also add a salt rim to the glass like a margarita.
Alternatively, the grapefruit soda can be replaced with fresh white or red grapefruit juice and club soda.
A simple paloma is a two-ingredient cocktail consisting only of tequila and grapefruit-flavoured soda. A more complex variant of the Paloma is the cantarito, which in addition to lime juice, also has lemon juice and orange juice.
The Paloma is more flavourful than its closest relative, the greyhound, which consists of grapefruit juice and either gin or vodka mixed and served over ice.
Our favourite take on the classic Mexican cocktail is the Frozen Paloma, prepared by mixing the ingredients with ice in a blender until a smooth slushy consistency is achieved.
You can prepare a Frozen Paloma with tequila or mezcal.
Travel To Mexico to Taste The Best Mezcal
There’s no better way to familiarize yourself with the best Mezcal Paloma cocktail recipe then by planning a vacation to visit the world’s best tequila distilleries.
As cocktail enthusiasts we’ve traveled the world to visit the best tequila, gin, whiskey and rum distilleries.
We love traveling to Mexico. We’ve sipped mezcal muddled cocktails in Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, Mexico City, Merida, Chichen Itza and Playa del Carmen.
The bar at Four Seasons Mexico City is ranked as one of the best cocktail bars in the country. The creative mixologists behind the Four Seasons bar make classic cocktails, eye-popping modern marvels and refreshing drinks like a Frozen Paloma.
If you want to learn first hand how tequila is made we suggest planning a trip to Jalisco. All tequila is produced in this state, while other agave-based distilled spirits made outside the region are called mezcal.
On a tequila distillery tour you’ll enjoy a walk through an agave farm, explore the production facility, learn about the distillation process and finish with a tutored tequila tasting. Many distillery tours in Jalisco also feature bars so you can sip a refreshing Frozen Paloma at the end of your visit.
Best Bartender Tools & Cocktail Equipment
Before hosting a swanky Frozen Mezcal Paloma soiree you’ll need to ensure you have the best bartender tools and cocktail equipment
- Cocktail Kit: cocktail kits are the perfect gift for newbie mixology fans as they include basic bartender tools like a jigger, shaker and spoon.
- Cocktail Shaker: a bartenders best friend. Purchase a premium cocktail shaker to muddle or shake up your favourite pink gin cocktails.
- Cocktail Glassware: make sure your bar is stocked with a selection of unique glassware to show off your favourite cocktail creations.
- Hawthorne Strainer: this unique strainer features tightly wound coils and perforated holes. It keeps ice and other large ingredients like lime wedges in your cocktail shaker rather than in the glass.
- Bar Spoons: slender and long bar spoons are a must-have when stirring drinks.
- Bottle Opener: easily open bottles of beer or cider with the flick of your wrist or purchase a corkscrew for fine wine.
- Pouring Spout: once you’ve opened a new bottle of gin insert these affordable pourers to make cocktail assembly a breeze.
- Cutting Board: purchase a petite cutting board for your bar to slice garnishes or citrus wedges like lime, orange, lemon or grapefruit.
- Ice Bucket: chill bottles of gin quickly in an ice bucket or keep by the bar when muddling gin mixers into cool creations.
- Ice Crusher: fans of the Mint Julep love an ice crusher.
- Ice Cube Kit: we suggest purchasing a selection of ice cube trays. Silicone styles are our favourite as they’re easy to clean and are available in various shapes and sizes.
- Jigger: use a jigger to accurately measure spirits, juices, syrups and shrubs.
- Juicer: invest in an electronic juicer or buy an affordable hand-held to easily juice fresh citrus like lemons and limes.
- Muddler: fans of the Mojito love a sturdy muddler to mix mint and lime. Muddler’s are handy for any cocktail featuring ingredients that need a pounding like fresh herbs or citrus wedges.
- Citrus Peeler & Zester: adorn your craft cocktails with a thick citrus peel or finer ribbons of lime or lemon zest.
- Rimmer: Bloody Mary and Caesar lovers should outfit their bar with a handy rimmer for salting and sugaring glassware.
Frozen Mezcal Paloma Cocktail Ingredients
Our easy Smoky Mezcal Paloma Slushie cocktail is made with fresh, premium ingredients:
- Mezcal: we suggest using Terra de Canto, Los Siete Misterios or Casamigos.
- Lime Juice: we always suggest juicing fresh limes as you’ll taste the difference. Do not use store bought lime juice!
- Grapefruit Juice: juice your own grapefruit or purchase a sweetened grapefruit cocktail beverage or grapefruit-flavoured soda pop.
- Simple Syrup: make your own homemade simple syrup to sweeten the slushie.
- Kosher Salt: we suggest decorating the rim of your cocktail glass with kosher salt.
- Garnish: add a fresh slice of grapefruit to the glass before serving.
Mezcal Paloma Cocktail Tips
This Mexican cocktail recipe is easy to make at home, ready to serve in under 5 minutes.
We love turning on our blender to make this smooth FrozenMezcal Paloma recipe in the hot summer months. The refreshing mezcal cocktail is a crowd pleaser at garden parties, family barbecues and cottage cocktail hours.
Our easy Frozen Paloma serves 4 people. If you’re hosting a large gathering feel free to multiply the ingredients by the number of guests and serve out of a large jug.
We’ve made this drink with a salted rim but if you don’t like salty beverages you can skip this step.
If you’re hosting a Mexican-themed dinner party serve this easy Mezcal Paloma cocktail recipe with:
- Nachos
- Vegetarian Chipotle Mexican Bean Soup
- Cheesy Vegetarian Antojito
- Jalapeno Poppers
- Chicken Fajita Tacos
- Mexican Sweet Potato Rice
- Mexican Queso
- Mexican Vegan Cucumber Radish Salad with Chipotle Peanuts
- Albondigas al Chipotle Smoky Mexican Meatballs
- Salsa de Huevo Vegetarian Mexican Scrambled Eggs
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How To Make a Frozen Mezcal Paloma Slushie Cocktail
Frozen Mezcal Paloma
Equipment
- blender
- measuring cups
- French knife
- Cocktail Glasses
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Fresh Grapefruit Juice
- 1 cup Mezcal
- 1/2 cup Fresh Lime Juice
- 1/4 cup Simple Syrup
- 2 cups Ice
- Kosher Salt
- 1/2 Grapefruit cut into 4 thin wedges
Instructions
- Combine the grapefruit juice, mezcal, lime juice, and simple syrup in a quart container and freeze it for at least 6 hours or overnight, until solid.
- Break up the mixture with a fork and transfer half to the jar of a blender. Add 1 cup of the ice and 1/8 tsp salt and blender until smooth.
- Divide the mixture between two highball glasses, then repeat with remaining mixture, ice and salt.
- Garnish each glass with a grapefruit wedge and serve frozen.
Nutrition
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