Blood Orange Paloma cocktail recipe

If you’re hunting for the perfect cocktail to serve at your Day of the Dead party, we’ve got you. Day of the Dead (or Día de los Muertos in Spanish) is an annual thousands-year-old tradition that signals the start of November and the return of the dead to Earth. Sounds scary, huh? But don’t worry, it’s a life-affirming celebration that is anything but scary – it’s full of colour, food, dancing and parades. In the spirit of celebrations and colour, we’ve made a cocktail that we think fits the bill quite nicely: A Blood Orange Paloma. Fresh blood oranges, beautiful smoky reposado tequila and lime (unsure what reposado is? Learn about the different types of tequila here).

The day of the dead is a UNESCO-recognised cultural event that spans thousands of years across the Aztec, Toltec and Nahua peoples. It is a beautiful expression of love and respect for deceased family members and friends. It is also highly recognisable for its skull paintings, in particular the iconic La Calavera Catrina, and bright orange marigolds – the  petals guide wandering souls to their place of rest. As an homage to that flower and Día de los Muertos, our Blood Orange Paloma pours a similar shade of orange.

A twist on the OG Paloma, it uses the same core ingredients, but swaps the pink grapefruit for blood orange and the blanco tequila for reposado (tequila aged anywhere from two months to a year). The result is a sweeter, smokier, denser cocktail. The original Paloma recipe was first created, we think, in the 1950s (this is up for debate) by the master Don Javier Delgado Corona – former owner of famed Mexican bar La Capilla and creator of the popular Batanga drink. And while it does take a firm second place in terms of tequila cocktails (the Margarita is number one), we think it’s a perfect sunshine sipper.

One of the best things about this cocktail is just how easy it is to make. It is so simple and so easily built in a Collins glass, there’s not much to get wrong here. 

What we will say is the fresher the juice the better, and that goes for both the blood orange and the lime, too. We need that beautiful zing and fresh sweetness to complement the rich flavour of the reposado. 

Aside from that, we recommend preparing your salt rim early and sticking it in the freezer to cool. And don’t forget to add plenty of ice cubes to the finished drink!

If you’ve made your Blood Orange Paloma and are itching to give some other tequila recipes a whirl, have a go at some of our favourites, like the classic Margarita, the Tommy's Margarita, the El Diablo or a cheeky Tequila Sunrise. Salud!