Fresh grapefruit and ginger Paloma

Oh, Summer. How temperamental our relationship is. When you are here, I dislike you and your sweaty ways. But when you are not, I long for days spent next to the pool, sipping on refreshing cocktails while sitting in the warm sun. I so long for that right now. As I sit here, sipping coffee, hoping for it to warm me up. Wrapped up in scarves and coats and woolly socks. And don’t get me wrong, Winter remains my favourite but there’s something so wonderful about Summer.

I find that when the temperatures take a dip, I gravitate towards the foods and drinks I enjoy most in summer. It’s like my body rejects anything that isn’t screaming “SUMMER”, so naturally, I made a big pitcher of fresh grapefruit Palomas a few days ago and guzzled down the entire lot. The fact that I was sitting under a blanket with the heater blasting full force is besides the point.

The wonderful thing about a Paloma is that it is genuinely one of the easiest cocktails to throw together. If you have grapefruit juice, tequila and soda water, you’re there. I wanted to amp mine up slightly by adding some fresh ginger and decided to infuse the simple syrup you would normally use to sweeten the drink a little with. This alongside the fresh, bitter grapefruit created a stunning drink which I would love even without the tequila. In fact, keeping a jug of the grapefruit/ginger mixture in your fridge to mix with soda water makes for the perfect variation of classic lemonade. And believe you me, this drink will be on high rotation in the Ryder household come summertime. Cheers!

Fresh grapefruit and ginger Paloma

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Course: Cocktail, Drinks

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 1 .5 litres

Author: Alida Ryder

Ingredients

for the ginger syrup

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 5 cm piece fresh ginger sliced

for the Paloma

• 500 ml fresh grapefruit juice
• 100 ml fresh lemon/lime juice
• 100 ml tequila or more...
• 300-500 ml soda water to taste
• fresh lemon/lime slices
• ice cubes

Instructions

• To make the syrup, combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat and allow to heat until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat then allow to cool completely.
• To make the paloma, combine the grapefruit juice and tequila in a jug then pour in some of the ginger syrup. Taste as you go to ensure it doesn't get too sweet. Top up with soda water, to taste, then serve in glasses with ice and lemon/lime slices.