Serve up our easy and yummy Cranberry Paloma for the holidays because it looks pretty and festive, but the taste will have you reaching for another.
Our Holiday version is spiked with peppermint syrup, and it’s so GOOD! Grab the recipe down below!
Cranberry Paloma with Grapefruit – Holiday Cocktail To Make!
With a few ingredients, you can serve up one of our favorite holiday cocktails ever. Our Cranberry Grapefruit Paloma has all of the makings of a go-to cocktail that is perfect for bringing all of the holiday cheer!
One of the best things about this cocktail is it’s easy to make, because who needs a cocktail that’s overly complicated when you have so much going on during the holiday celebrations? And the cool thing is, you probably have most of the ingredients already. The only thing I had to buy specifically for this recipe was the peppermint syrup and grapefruit soda.
You start by building the majority of this cocktail in a cocktail shaker, add ice and pour in the cranberry juice. The peppermint syrup adds a bit of festive pizzazz, and the tequila adds a bit of liquid courage, squeeze the juice of half of the large lime and secure the lid on the cocktail shaker.
Shake it up vigorously for right around thirty seconds, and you are good to go! Next, using a strainer, divide the drink between two standard cocktail glasses, and top each glass off with chilled grapefruit soda.
For garnish, float half of a grapefruit slice into each glass, along with three whole cranberries each. Now, all you have to do is serve them up and enjoy! See! So easy!
What is A Paloma Drink
Traditional Paloma consists of using fresh lime juice, tequila, and grapefruit juice. This recipe here uses cranberries to help offer a different take to a classic cocktail. This cranberry Paloma is great for Christmas entertaining.
What You Will Need To Make Our Cranberry Grapefruit Paloma
Cranberry Juice. For the cranberry juice, you will want to use plain cranberry. Try to avoid flavored cranberries, as it will alter the flavor a bit.
Peppermint Syrup. The peppermint syrup adds a cooling and minty flavor to the Paloma cocktail. You can find this at your local grocery store or shop online to ship to your home. You may also spot it at World Market or HomeGoods.
Blanco Tequila. You know we are a huge fan of Blanco when it comes to making cocktails. This tequila is smooth and helps to give you a boozy twist without overpowering the other flavors in the cocktail.
Fresh Lime Juice. Make sure to squeeze fresh limes for this drink. The bottled lime juice will give you a fake lime flavor, so it takes just a minute or two to squeeze that fresh lime.
Grapefruit Soda. You can’t have a Paloma without some grapefruit soda. This is going to add some nice bubble and citrus flavor to each sip.
Half Grapefruit Slice & Whole Cranberries. Whole cranberries and grapefruit slices give this cocktail a holiday feel and add a little razzle-dazzle.
Can You Make This Cocktail In Advance?
You do not want to assemble your cocktail too far in advance as the grapefruit soda will lose the bubble texture, and your drink will fall flat. You can mix the cranberry, peppermint, tequila, and lime juice and store it in the fridge. Then pour the soda in, ice, and dress up with the cranberries and the grapefruit for the glasses.
Step-by-step directions for a Cranberry Grapefruit Paloma
Makes 2 Cocktails
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 ounces cranberry juice
- 1 1/2 ounces peppermint syrup (optional)
- 3 ounces Blanco tequila
- juice of half of large lime
- ice
- grapefruit soda
- slices of grapefruit for garnish
- 3 whole cranberries per glass for garnish
Directions
- Add ice, cranberry juice, peppermint syrup, Blanco or silver tequila, and freshly squeezed lime juice into a cocktail shaker.
- Secure the lid and shake vigorously for thirty seconds.
- Strain the cocktail between two rocks glasses and top each with chilled grapefruit soda.
- Garnish each with a half slice of fresh grapefruit, and drop three whole cranberries into each glass.
- Serve.
What If I Can’t Find Fresh Cranberries?
If you can’t find fresh, feel free to look for frozen cranberries in the freezer section. Or you can leave off the fresh berries as a garnishment for your glass.
Where to find grapefruit soda at the grocery store?
Head to the aisle that has all the mixed drink supplies. Look for club soda, clamato mix, etc. You will find cans or glass bottles of grapefruit soda around that area of the store. Or you can look for grapefruit-flavored bubble water to replace the soda.
We find the Fever Tree brand of Grapefruit soda at World Market, Costco, or Sam’s Club.
Can I Make this Cocktail Stronger?
Go right ahead and add more tequila into your drink if you want to have a harder liquor flavor. I did 3 ounces but feel free to go for 4 or 5 if you think that would fit you better.
Be sure to always drink responsibly! Happy Holidays!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 ounces cranberry juice
- 1 1/2 ounces peppermint syrup optional
- 3 ounces Blanco tequila
- juice of half of large lime
- ice
- grapefruit soda
- slices of grapefruit for garnish
- 3 whole cranberries per glass for garnish
Instructions
- Into a cocktail shaker add ice, cranberry juice, peppermint syrup, Blanco or silver tequila, and freshly squeezed lime juice.
- Secure the lid and shake vigorously for thirty seconds.
- Strain the cocktail between two rocks glasses and top each with chilled grapefruit soda.
- Garnish each with a half slice of fresh grapefruit, and drop three whole cranberries into each glass.
- Serve.
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