Recipe | Easiest Tequila Drinks: Paloma & Cantarito
I share my go-to tequila drink almost every week on Instagram, so I thought I would make it official by sharing it on the blog!
First let’s talk about tequila:
I’ve heard so much negativity around tequila. I feel like everyone I’ve talked to has a “tequila story” which has now deterred them from drinking it altogether. Let me just say, I’ve been there. I have a tequila story. However, it’s because we were drinking it all wrong! Tequila is a drink that is really meant to be enjoyed slowly, and for the taste.
First, let’s look at the history. Before distilling was introduced to Mexico in the 1600s, the sap from the agave plant was collected and fermented as a drink. This drink is called pulque, and was very popular before tequila. When the Spanish conquistadors ran out of their alcohol (brandy), they started distilling agave, introducing tequila. Tequila is a drink made specifically from the blue agave plant. Depending on the region, the taste can vary. Blue agave plants grown at higher altitudes are typically sweeter, and agaves grown in the low lands have a more herbaceous flavor. You might also be curious about where mezcal comes in. Mezcal is also made from the agave plant, but tequila comes specifically from the blue agave plant. Mezcal also goes through a cooking process which gives it a smoky flavor.
You may have noticed three different types of tequila when you are buying it at the store:
Blanco: A white, clear tequila that has been aged the least; typically less than two months.
Reposado: A tinted tequila that has been aged from two months to a year in an oak barrel.
Añejo: A rich tequila with a tinted brown color, that has been aged from one to three years in an oak barrel.
Tequila is a drink that can be enjoyed for the taste, notes of the aging, and the region it comes from. When you sip it slowly over ice, you can really taste the fullness of the tequila. Usually tequila blanco is used for cocktails. I personally tend to like a more robust flavor, and tequila reposado is a happy medium for the cocktails I make at home.
My go-to drinks when I’m out at a restaurant are a paloma or a cantarito. These drinks are SO good when good tequila is used and they have a nice cocktail mix to bring out the tequila flavor. Obviously restaurant cocktails can also have added sugar, so it’s not a good idea for my waistline to be drinking cocktails like that everyday, but I do like to enjoy tequila at the end of a day just like other people enjoy a glass of wine in the evening. So I have replicated my favorite cocktails at home without using sugary additives, but in a way I can enjoy the taste of the tequila with citrusy flavors.
If you want to try these drinks I make at home, all you’ll need is an orange, lime, grapefruit, and your favorite tequila to enjoy some low calorie cocktails at home.
Paloma Recipe
A paloma is a grapefruit-based drink usually made with Squirt. That’s how my father actually taught me how to drink tequila. A shot, and some squirt. I don’t drink squirt anymore though.
This is way I make it here at home:
half a grapefruit
half a lime
shot of tequila
sparkling water
Not many people have grapefruits hanging around, so you can totally just use grapefruit-flavored sparkling water. ;-)
Cantarito Recipe
If you want something a little fancier, or sweeter, you can add a half an orange to mimic a Cantarito
half a grapefruit, squeezed (or grapefruit flavored sparkling water)
half an orange, squeezed
half a lime, squeezed
shot of tequila
sparkling water
With either of these recipes, you can add a slice of the fruit to your drink as well, to feel like you got it straight from the bartender. My favorite tequila brand is FINO tequila. It is the smoothest I’ve had, and could sip it straight on the rocks. I like to play around with the fruit and the flavors with the different kinds of tequila I get. In my opinion the cocktail you make should compliment the tequila flavor, not over power it. When what you add to your drink overpowers the flavor of the tequila…that’s where you can get in trouble. ;-)
I’d love to hear if you make a tequila cocktail! And let me know what your favorite tequila brand is. Comment below if you end up trying your hand at some mixology.
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