The 5 Best Grapefruit Sodas for a Paloma, Ranked

A standard paloma is tried, true and totally untrendy in the best way imaginable.

At its best, the national cocktail of Mexico can hit a little bit of everything in the same glass  — bright citrus, a recognizably bittersweet edge and enough carbination to drown out a blisteringly hot day. But for all the attention paid to tequila, the ingredient that really shapes the cocktail is grapefruit soda. The right choice can make a paloma taste crisp and refreshing; the wrong one can leave it flat and, more often than not, all too artificial.

The paloma is our favorite tequila highball, and suffice it to say that we have some strong opinions about what separates the wheat from the chaff. Narrowing it down to the five most popular options on shelves, we’d argue that there’s a clear hierarchy that emerges among the pinkish-green competition.

If you’re interested in the other side of the equation, be sure to check out our five blanco tequila recommendations for the perfect paloma cocktail. Without further ado, let’s dive straight into the nerdy, bittersweet and oh-so tangy details.

For a non-alcoholic Paloma recipe, click here!

5. Fresca

(Photo: Fresca)

Fresca might be the best-known grapefruit soda in the United States — but that doesn’t mean it belongs anywhere near a paloma. Launched by The Coca-Cola Company in 1966, the zero-sugar, calorie-free sparkler has gone through various iterations over the years, switching from cyclamates to saccharin in the late 1960s before settling on its current aspartame-sweetened formula in 1983. These days, you can find the brand in Black Cherry, Peach and Blackberry flavors alongside a recent stint in the pre-mixed cocktail market, though the original Grapefruit remains the most popular and iconic on convenience store shelves.

Sure, the soda has its fair share of fans (former President Lyndon B. Johnson apparently among them). But here’s the thing. Fresca is the odd diet soda that’s not marketed as a diet soda, and anyone who doesn’t know what they’re getting into is likely to be surprised by its tinny, all-too metallic aftertaste. If you’re looking for a low-calorie cocktail — or, as the kids might call it, a skinny paloma — just combine seltzer, grapefruit juice and tequila.

4. Squirt

(Photo: Squirt)

Squirt is a tricky brand to rank side-by-side with its contemporaries, since there are essentially three different versions floating around the market. American Squirt is sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, while Mexican Squirt makes use of Splenda and Acesulfame-K. American Squirt imported from Mexico, meanwhile, is made with real pure cane sugar. Why the needless complexity? Probably has something to do with local regulations and the unknowable whims of parent company Keurig Dr. Pepper.

Our favorite of the three is imported Squirt, sold across the US in thin, twisted glass bottles with a neon yellow-green hue. It’s perfectly tart, packed to the brim with carbonation and an all-around excellent pairing for tequila. The other versions are good in their own right, though their finish skews closer to Sour Skittles than freshly squeezed grapefruit. Nitpicking aside, Squirt is a solid choice in whatever variety you find it — just know that a little searching can go a long way.

3. Jarritos Grapefruit

(Photo: Jarritos)

Jarritos is the Mexican soda in the eyes of many Americans, and that reputation is well deserved. Originally debuted in 1950 as a coffee-flavored drink (who would’ve thought?), Jarritos made a concerted push north of the border in the early 2010s with a national advertising campaign targeting younger, non-Hispanic consumers. The results speak for themselves. Available at damn near every taco pit stop from California to New York, Jarritos’ rainbow spectrum of fruit flavors is a best-seller and miniature pop culture icon bottled in one.

Like much else from the brand, Jarritos Grapefruit is easy-going, colorful and wildly sweet. But the soda makes a point of using 100% real cane sugar, so it avoids the syrupy mouthfeel of a few too many of its competitors. If the bittersweet bite of grapefruit juice isn’t to your liking, then Jarritos makes for an ideal middle ground. Sprinkle some salt on the rim of your paloma for an extra pop of in-your-face flavor.

2. Fever-Tree Sparkling Pink Grapefruit

(Photo: Fever-Tree)

Fever-Tree is a mixer brand that makes products by and for mixologists. In other words, this is a beverage designed from scratch for use in a paloma — and it certainly tastes the part. Made with Florida pink grapefruit juice and red grapefruit concentrate, the soda fully embraces its citrus influences, balancing understated sweetness and a tart bite alongside a distinct floral quality we’d liken to lavender. Extra points for its vibrant pink hue, which makes for one of the most aesthetically pleasing cocktail mixers on the market.

All of that said, this is the point in the list where we’re teetering into truly bitter territory. This is not a soda designed with the sensibility of a Sprite or a Fanta, nor was it created to court grapefruit skeptics. Fever-Tree delivers a pithy, sharply carbonated and surprisingly complex twist on the concept. It checks all of our boxes for a beachside paloma, but preferences may vary.

1. Ting

(Photo: Ting)

A fan-favorite among those in the know, Ting is an exceptional (though tricky to find) option that delivers the boldest rendition of grapefruit on the market. Invented in 1976 by Jamaican brewing company Desnoes & Geddes Limited, the brand is today produced by a subsidiary of Pepsi-Cola, which combines carbonated water, local grapefruit juice and citric acid in each bottle of this zingy soda.

We love it for its assertive, sweet and sour flavor. Emphasis on the sour. Imagine biting straight into a grapefruit rind, or leaving a green mango on the tip of your tongue for a few seconds too long. It’s a soda that knows how to pack a punch, and though its muted carbonation leaves something to be desired, the flavor that’s there more than makes up for it in intensity. Beyond palomas, popular pairings include the Wray & Ting, which combines the soda with blisteringly strong Nephew White Overproof Rum, and the Ving, which swaps rum for citrus vodka.