What’s the Best Grapefruit Soda for a Paloma? Our Editors Have Thoughts (2024)

The Paloma is a simple co*cktail with opinionated fans. Some argue that Squirt or Jarritos are the only brands of grapefruit soda that should be allowed in a proper Paloma, but there are countless options on the market these days, along with recipes that forgo sugary soda altogether.

Liquor.com editorial director and longtime bartender Dylan Garret remembers the height of the craft co*cktail boom, around 2010, when bars tried to “elevate” the Paloma by squeezing fresh grapefruit juice to-order and topping it with soda water. Since then, craft brands like Fever-Tree and Q Mixers, among others, have launched lines of sodas designed to replicate this fresh-grapefruit vibe, without the mess.

But is fresh actually better, or is a Paloma all about that pre-bottled grapefruit soda flavor? Does a true Paloma require Mexican Squirt rather than the American version? Is sugar-free Fresca ever a good idea in a mixed drink? With these questions in mind, what started as an argument between editors about Jarritos versus Squirt turned into a nine-Paloma structured tasting from our respective “offices” (the New York Liquor.com office for Garret and associate editor Audrey Morgan, and the California homes of vice president Alexis Doctolero and senior editor Prairie Rose).

East Coast native Garret entered the tasting firmly in the Jarritos camp, while West Coasters Doctolero and Rose identified as Team Squirt. Morgan came in with no preconceived notions, and was accused by her coworkers of not even liking grapefruit several times during the taste test. (Editor’s note: Morgan denies this.)

After a spirited tasting, we generally found that grapefruit sodas could be divided into three camps: the classics (Squirt and Jarritos), modern sodas with a more authentic grapefruit flavor, and outliers that aren’t really intended for Palomas, but which we tried anyway, to mixed results.

We also found that the “best” grapefruit soda is going to depend heavily on your flavor preferences and your past experiences with Palomas. “It’s like Twizzlers versus Red Vines,” says Rose. “Your palate is personal. You’re, like, ‘This is what a Paloma is to me.’”

The Winners

Best Old School: Mexican Squirt or Jarritos

There was a coastal divide on this decision. California team members Doctolero and Rose both gave top honors to Squirt, while New York-based editors Garret and Morgan favored Jarritos.

The catch: The New Yorkers made their Palomas with American Squirt (sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup), the West Coasters with Mexican Squirt (sweetened with sugar). This somewhat invalidated our overall group findings.

Though both Jarritos and Mexican Squirt tasted slightly generic on their own and less like natural grapefruit than other options we tried, we found that they created a balanced drink when mixed with tequila, salt, and lime—the “thumbprint” of a Paloma, if you will. While nostalgia was almost certainly at play, we also found that the subtler grapefruit flavor of these sodas allowed the earthy notes of the blanco tequila to shine.

Best New School: San Pellegrino Pompelmo Original Grapefruit

Though San Pellegrino certainly isn’t a new company, we found that the fresh-grapefruit flavor of its Italian-style soda embodied the more modern approach to Paloma-making. It was delicious on its own, with an authentic grapefruit flavor and just the right amount of sweetness, but it also made for a surprisingly good co*cktail. We found that San Pellegrino Pompelmo struck the perfect balance between the natural flavor of fresh white grapefruit juice and the sugary-soda vibe we want in a Paloma. It only slightly edged out another contender, which brings us to…

Dark Horse Award: Whole Foods Italian Grapefruit Soda

We were surprised by this Whole Foods-brand soda, which poured a beautiful pink in the glass. We found that it had a very natural ruby red grapefruit flavor, and also created a more balanced Paloma than some of the overtly bartender-oriented grapefruit sodas we tried. Like San Pellegrino, it was somewhat delicate in sweetness, but not so dry that it couldn’t balance the acidity of the lime juice.

Our Full Reviews

Jarritos Toronja

Founded in Mexico, Jarritos has produced fruit sodas since 1950, and its grapefruit flavor, sweetened with cane sugar, remains one of the O.G. options for Palomas. We found that although it had a somewhat generic citrus soda flavor on its own, it worked to create a balanced co*cktail that many of us considered the blueprint of a perfect Paloma.

Both Rose and Morgan noted the lack of strong grapefruit flavor when sipping this soda solo. “It tastes like Sprite but with a little grapefruit tang to it,” says Morgan. “You’re right that it doesn’t taste like grapefruit any more than Skittles taste like actual orange or cherry,” says Garret. “It’s a signature Jarritos flavor, that’s what I love about it.”

The group unanimously enjoyed Jarritos when mixed into a Paloma. “Something magical happens when you add the tequila and lime,” says Rose. “It’s so recognizable as a Paloma.” She also noted that it was much tarter than she had expected.

Doctolero, who maintains an admitted bias towards Squirt, was also pleasantly surprised. “This might be my dark horse situation,” she says. “We just kicked it right out of the gate.”

Garret also called out the consistent carbonation that lasted over a long period of time. “It’s got the tiny bubbles that fizz and each one acts as a magnifying glass of flavor, the same way it does in sparkling wine,” he says. “It’s basically the pét-nat of Palomas.”

Squirt

One of the most iconic grapefruit sodas, Squirt was invented in Arizona in 1938, but it has become a popular option in Mexico, where it was first imported in 1955. Here’s where the bi-coastal divide of our taste test came into play: Morgan and Garret had the American version on hand, while Doctolero and Rose sourced the Mexican variety, which comes in a glass bottle. (While Mexican Squirt can be found in both markets, it’s more ubiquitous on the West Coast.) Notably, Mexican Squirt is sweetened with cane sugar, while the U.S. version employs high-fructose corn syrup—and we could taste the difference.

Morgan and Garret both found the Paloma itself to taste unpleasant. “This just tastes like watered-down tequila and sugar,” says Garret. “Solo sippability, I’m okay with Squirt. It just tastes like a generic fruit soda, which I love, but in the Paloma I’m getting a weird bitter finish.”

Doctolero and Rose had a different take. “This to me is what a Paloma should taste like,” says Doctolero. “It’s not an authentic grapefruit flavor, it’s a grapefruit soda flavor. That’s the flavor that works for me with tequila, salt, and lime.”

“The carbonation is maintained in the Paloma for me more than with the Jarritos, and the fruit flavor is a lot more robust,” says Rose. “It’s more grapefruit-y.”

For a more measured assessment, Doctolero did a side-by-tasting of Mexican Squirt with American Squirt, which she also had on hand. “The Mexican Squirt has a slight bitterness to it that is evoking grapefruit. The American just tastes like fake sweetener,” she says. “I understand why I use Mexican Squirt now. I’ve taken it for granted.”

Ting

First produced in 1976 by Desnoes & Geddes Limited, or D&G (also the producer of Red Stripe Beer), Ting is a popular Caribbean soda marketed as “a little island sunshine in a bottle.” It’s flavored with 6% Jamaican grapefruit juice from concentrate and sweetened with both cane sugar and artificial sweeteners.

This is one of the bolder grapefruit sodas we tried. We found it incredibly sweet on its own, but it made for a balanced Paloma that was among our favorites. When we tried it in the Paloma, our reactions were immediate, with tasting notes that ranged from “funky” (Garret) to “extremely tangy” (Morgan) to “flavor bomb” (Rose).

“In the Paloma it tastes like biting into a white grapefruit,” says Garret. Morgan found the soda itself cloying and syrupy, like “lemon candy,” but loved it mixed with the tequila and lime. “It makes for an incredibly bright and citrusy Paloma,” she says. “Interestingly it’s my least favorite soda but my favorite Paloma so far.” Rose noted that the bold flavor profile makes it well-suited to mixing, while Doctolero found it overpowering. “I feel like the presence of the flavor of Ting is overwhelming to the tequila, I just get a lot more of it,” she says.

A downside: We universally found it a bit heavy on the palate, and thought the carbonation could be more consistent.

Fever-Tree Sparkling Pink Grapefruit

Known for its high-quality bartender-oriented mixers like tonic water, Fever-Tree launched Sparkling Pink Grapefruit in 2020, with red grapefruit juice from concentrate and pink grapefruit juice. Notably, a bottle has just 70 calories and no added sugar.

Our editors immediately noticed a strong presence of authentic grapefruit flavor and a vivid pink hue that looked gorgeous in the glass. Of all the grapefruit sodas we tried, this one had the most consistent carbonation. “You can tell it was made for bartending because it has that higher carbonation that will still hold up after mixed with other ingredients,” says Garret.

We found that Fever-Tree made for a relatively subtle Paloma that was dry and refreshing. “If you’re looking for something that really tastes like grapefruit, this checks that box,” says Rose. “I’m getting ‘Skinnygirl Paloma’ vibes,” says Morgan. “It tastes like a Tequila Soda with a splash of grapefruit.” Doctolero found the grapefruit flavor to slightly overpower the other elements of the drink. “It’s a good drink but doesn’t read to me like a Paloma,” she says.

Rose offered one specific critique. “It has to be opened with a bottle opener, which is very annoying when you’re at a picnic and you forgot your bottle opener, and you try to use something else and then cut yourself.”

Q Mixers Sparkling Grapefruit

Q Mixers was founded in 2007 with the goal of making high-quality co*cktail mixers accessible. Its grapefruit soda, made from pink Florida grapefruits and sweetened with cane sugar, is specifically engineered for co*cktails like Palomas; Q also recommends its product in other drinks like a rye whiskey-Aperol drink and a Sparkling Greyhound.

While this bright-pink soda undeniably had a strong grapefruit flavor in comparison to some of the more generic citrus-flavored sodas we tried, we found the profile to be artificial and somewhat chemical on the backend. “This tastes like something from the Barbie movie,” says Garret. “It’s fakey-tasting to me,” says Rose. “I want a little bitterness, but this is a chemical bitterness, not a grapefruit bitterness,” adds Morgan.

Garret found that this soda made for a very acidic Paloma, noting that citric acid comes before grapefruit extract on the ingredient list, but he didn’t necessarily find this to be a bad thing. “This doesn’t taste like any natural fruit, this tastes like it’s loaded with citric acid, which on a personal level I’m okay with because super-sour is my go-to flavor profile,” he says. “I get that it was made to be mixed which is why it comes on so strong.”

“Acid’s on 11,” agrees Doctolero.

On the carbonation front, we found that this soda flattened out relatively quickly compared to some of the other options we tried.

Gus

An acronym for “Grown-Up Soda,” Gus was founded in 2003 and makes a range of “distinctively dry” sodas, including this offering which is flavored with ruby red grapefruit juice concentrate and sweetened with cane sugar. The brand doesn’t use any artificial sweeteners, flavors, colors, or preservatives.

Overall, we found this to be a pleasant beverage on its own, but we thought it was too weak in flavor profile and carbonation to stand up to a Paloma (which makes sense, given it’s not the intended use). Gus showed a very natural red grapefruit juice flavor and was among the drier sodas we tried.

“To me this is not meant to be mixed into a drink,” says Garret. “It’s formulated to be a refreshing alternative from an over-sweetened soda when you’re grabbing something from the bodega.”

“It’s a surprisingly good mixer,” says Morgan. “But again, it’s like a Tequila Soda or Ranch Water with a hint of grapefruit. If I was serving this I wouldn’t tell people it’s a Paloma, because it wouldn’t be what they expect.”

“Yeah, this is more Tequila Soda vibes,” says Garret. “I was about to say it tastes like ‘boozy Hamptons spa water,’ but that’s too close to the name of Bon Jovi’s wine, so maybe not.”

“Still, the vibe is very much being on a beach in the sun and your drink has watered down a bit, but it’s fine because it’s still refreshing and you’re gonna drink it,” he adds.

Doctolero had a more critical opinion. “In my tasting notes, I just wrote ‘water,’” she says.

Fresca

First introduced in 1966, Fresca is made with concentrated grapefruit juice and sweetened with aspartame. Although it’s never been labeled as such, it’s essentially a diet grapefruit soda.

With the exception of Doctolero, who somehow claims to have never tried Fresca, the rest of the group all had strong associations with the soda before our tasting.

“College Prairie loved Fresca and gin!” says Rose. Morgan, meanwhile, says “it tastes like nostalgia and diet culture.”

“I actually love Fresca,” she adds. “But I’m curious how the aspartame is going to interact with alcohol.”

“I’m just trying really hard not to make a Caddyshack reference right now,” says Garret.

Nostalgia aside, overall we found Fresca’s capability as a mixer to be lacking. “As a science experiment, this proves why you shouldn’t drink Fresca Palomas,” says Garret. “It tastes like any party you were at in college where you just have a handle of booze, a jug of some kind of soda, Solo cups, and melted ice. I think the takeaway is that, with the aspartame and no real added sugar, you’re not balancing the lime juice or anything else.”

Doctolero actually preferred the Fresca Paloma to straight Fresca. “The tequila really helps this soda a lot,” she says.

Whole Foods Market Pink Grapefruit Sparkling Italian Soda

Marketed as “a sharp, tangy and delightfully sweet authentic Italian soda,” this Whole Foods-branded drink is made with pink grapefruit juice from concentrate and cane sugar.

We immediately noted the pretty but understated pink hue and a full grapefruit flavor that showed just the right amount of sweetness. Every team member preferred it equally in or out of a Paloma. “This perfectly splits the difference between the ‘too realistic’ and the ‘fake soda’ flavor profiles,” says Garret. “It has enough backbone to actually stand up to the tequila and the lime juice.”

“It’s not trying to be too dry,” says Rose. “It’s like, they just wanted to create a balanced soda, but it turns out to be an excellent co*cktail mixer.”

“It doesn’t have a weird aftertaste compared to some of the other more grapefruit-forward ones we’ve had,” adds Morgan.

While Doctolero found this to be a solid option, it wasn’t her favorite. “The Paloma is meant to be a sessionable drink, to dilute over time,” she says. “This for me is losing that excitement that comes at the beginning because it is a little more natural.”

San Pellegrino Pompelmo Original Grapefruit Drink

San Pellegrino has made fruit-flavored Italian sodas, including its famous Limonata, since 1932. Its Pompelmo variety is made with 11% grapefruit juice concentrate and grapefruit extract, and it’s sweetened with cane sugar.

While this grapefruit-flavored soda is ubiquitous in convenience and grocery stores around the country, none of us had ever thought to try it in a Paloma. “This was made to fit the style of their soda line, not to fit a Paloma,” says Garret. However, we were pleasantly surprised to find that it made for a balanced co*cktail with a distinct white grapefruit flavor that didn’t overpower the tequila.

“It strikes a balance between that real grapefruit flavor and a soda,” says Doctolero. “I think it is a little sweeter than some of the others, and it balances the lime and makes a really refreshing drink,” adds Morgan.

“It tastes more Paloma-y than I expected,” says Garret. “And it’s holding up to dilution in repeat sipping. I’m getting more grapefruit the more I sip.”

“It has a solid highball vibe for sure,” agrees Rose.

“I’m gonna say something crazy—this is the best Paloma I’ve ever had in my life,” says Morgan. “Maybe I also just drank nine Palomas.”