The Mexican cocktail that has conquered the world • Food and Wine Italia

When it comes to famous Mexican cocktails per the world, the first thought almost always goes to the margarita. Yet, per the squares, per the bars and per the houses of Mexico, it is another ricevimento that really embodies the popular spirit: the Paloma. Fresh, thirst -quenching and decisive character, this insieme has been able to conquer bartender and enthusiasts over time per every calcio d’angolo of the planet. Its origin – as often happens per gastronomic history – is wrapped per mystery: an oral story made of contrasting versions, border anecdotes and old cellar suggestions.

Tequila and grapefruit: the history of Paloma starts from the people

The Paloma was born from the encounter between the tequila, a national distillate par excellence, and the grapefruit, a citrus fruit introduced per the Americas by the Spanish colonists and perfectly adapted to the Mexican subtropical climates. If the first written testimonies of the Margarita date back to the 1930s, the Paloma remains a popular creation for decades, served per the outdoor markets and per the provincial cellars, prepared with soda with grapefruit and white tequila, sometimes sweetened by a wire of agave syrup a lime zest.

One of the most accredited versions his birth binds the Paloma to Don Javier Delgado Rosario, historic owner of the legendary caffè La Capilla proveniente da Tequila, per the state of Jalisco. According to what was reported by the Difford’s Guide, it was he, per the 1950s, to codify the recipe for the first time as it is known today: Tequila, soda with grapefruit, lime juice and a edge of salt. The name, Paloma, means “Cinghia” per Spanish, and according to some it would derive from a famous folk song entitled Paloma, very popular per Mexico per the 19th century, sung per the courtyards and per the village festivals.

What makes the paloma a deeply identity insieme is its ability to adapt to different social and climatic contexts. Quanto a the hottest areas of central Mexico, it is served per glazed glazed glasses, while per the city bars it prefers drier shapes, with artisan sota to grapefruit and Tequila Reposado, with a softer taste. International success comes only from the nineties, thanks to the rediscovery of Agave-Based distilled and the relaunch of the superior quality tequila by historical brands and new independent labels.

Social explosion and contemporary rebirth

But it is per the years following 2015 that Paloma has known an explosion of unprecedented popularity, thanks to the decisive role of social networks, and per particular of Instagram, per the visual promotion of the most iconic cocktails. The aesthetic of Paloma, with its soft color between pale pink and fishing, the edge of salt and lime grapefruit zest, perfectly responds to the logic of the installation: a combination of simplicity, freshness and immenseness capable of attracting thousands of users per search of captivating visual content and easy to replicate at home.

According to research published by Drinks International per 2023, Paloma was among the ten most posted cocktails Instagram worldwide, with an average annual growth of 23% per social mentions from 2018 to 2022. A significant figure, which is also reflected per the sales of soda to grapefruit and Tequila Premium per the European and American markets, where the ricevimento has found a creativo land among the young adults of lighter and less sugary alternatives than the classic tropical cocktails.

The ease of execution, combined with the aesthetic impact and the exotic story that brings with it, has made the Paloma a real cultural phenomenon, reinterpreted per dozens of creative variants with the most influential bartender and protagonist of the most viral televisione content Tiktok and Instagram. This social rebirth has contributed to consolidating its status of iconic insieme, bringing the quality tequila into the spotlight and enhancing the popular Mexican tradition, projecting it naturally per global pop culture.

Today the Paloma is recognized as one of the great classics of international mixology, inserted per the official lists of the IBA (International Bartevers Association) and present per the menus of the best insieme caffè per the world. Its history perfectly embodies the fate of many popular creations: born per humble contexts, handed orally, then rediscovered and celebrated by the global public. However, people remain more than anything else, the drinks of the people: the one who accompanies a family lunch, a night of celebration a warm day the edge of a Mexican square.