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Mezcal Paloma Cocktail

Name: Mezcal Paloma Cocktail
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 120 ml Fresh grapefruit juice; 1 tsp Worm salt (for the rim); 0.5 Lime (juice); 60 ml Young mezcal; 1 pinch Salt

5 min (5 prep + 0 cook) Easy 1 servings Oaxaca

Edmond Bojalil

Recetas Mexas

Published: 27 Mar 2026 · Updated: 30 Mar 2026

Classic Paloma cocktail made with mezcal instead of tequila, fresh grapefruit, worm salt and sparkling water, Oaxacan style.

About this recipe

The Mezcal Paloma is a smoky, complex variation of the classic Mexican Paloma cocktail: instead of tequila, young mezcal is used, whose smoky character from the stone-pit-roasted agave completely transforms the drink's profile. Combined with fresh grapefruit juice, a touch of lime, worm salt on the rim and sparkling water, it is one of the most characterful cocktails in contemporary Mexican mixology. Worm salt - made from dried maguey worms, chilli and salt - adds an earthy, umami dimension that is unmistakably Oaxacan.

History & Origin

The Paloma (The Dove) is perhaps Mexico's most widely drunk cocktail - more popular among Mexicans than even the Margarita, though less known internationally. Its origin is uncertain: some sources attribute it to Don Javier Delgado Corona, owner of La Capilla in Tequila (Jalisco), who in the 1950s began mixing tequila with Squirt grapefruit soda. The mezcal version is a more recent phenomenon, emerging from the international boom in Oaxacan mezcal in the first decade of the 21st century. Mezcal, artisanally distilled from various agave varieties using the ancestral stone-pit method, brought a smoky, earthy depth to the cocktail that radically differentiates it from the tequila Paloma. Worm salt (salt with powdered maguey worms and chilli) is the Oaxacan touch that turned the Mezcal Paloma into an icon of new Mexican cocktail culture.

Estimated cost

£7.00

Total cost

£7.00

Per serving

* Approximate prices based on UK supermarkets

Nutritional information per serving

165

Calories

0.5g

Protein

18g

Carbohydrates

Fat

Fibre

280mg

Sodium

* Approximate values. May vary depending on ingredients used.

Method

1
Rim a short glass or rocks glass with worm salt: moisten the rim with a wedge of grapefruit or lime and dip it in a plate of worm salt. Fill the glass with ice to the brim.
💡 Worm salt is the Oaxacan signature of this drink; if you cannot find it, use flaky sea salt mixed with chilli powder.
2
Into the iced glass, pour the mezcal and the freshly squeezed grapefruit juice. Add the lime juice and a pinch of salt. Top with sparkling water or tonic water to almost full.
💡 Use pink grapefruit for a sweeter, more balanced flavour; white grapefruit is more acidic and bitter.
3
Stir gently with a spoon to combine. Garnish with a grapefruit slice on the rim and serve immediately while the ice keeps the drink cold.
💡 Do not shake or vigorously stir; the Paloma is a long drink that should keep its bubbles.