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This easy, festive drink is made with fresh pomegranate and grapefruit juice, 100% agave tequila and a pinch of cardamom.
Top it all off with a splash of sparkling champagne and rosemary garnish for the perfect New Year's Eve or Valentine's Day cocktail!
Best of all? This tasty beverage is gluten free, vegan and quite light at only 165 calories per cocktail!
Want another fun New Year's Eve cocktail idea? Try these Cranberry Orange Moscow Mules or go with a Classic Skinny Margarita!
Ingredients:
Pomegranate & grapefruit juice: I like juicing fresh fruit (it's just so delicious)! You can use bottled juices if you're looking to save a little time but I promise the extra effort is worth it!
Alcohol / Liquor: spike your cocktail with 100% agave tequila. So tasty!
Cardamom: a little extra spice to add flavor and depth.
Garnish: fresh sprigs of rosemary, grapefruit peel and pomegranate seeds are all great options.
How to make sparkling pomegranate palomas:
Keep scrolling for the full recipe. We'll start here with a quick overview!
- Seed your pomegranate and peel/zest your grapefruit.
- Place seeds and fruit in a blender and blend for 20-30 seconds.
- Pour mixture into a mesh strainer and use the back of a spoon to squeeze juice out of pulp and seeds into a small bowl (I like to use a large Pyrex measuring cup because it makes it easier to measure your mixture into cocktail glasses).
- Add tequila, grapefruit zest and cardamom. Whisk to combine.
- Add ice to four small cocktail glasses and divide mixture evenly into each.
- Top with champagne and add garnish. Cheers!
What is the best tequila for a paloma?
I like using pure, 100% agave tequila because it has less calories and zero carbs due to the distillation process (it also offers better flavor)! I usually go for a middle of the road tequila. I'm not trying to pay $60.00 for a bottle of booze, but I will pay $25.00 to $30.00!
Handy tips:
- If you want to make your cocktails looks extra fancy and impress your family and friends, I highly recommend purchasing an ice mold! I love this mold so much and plan to use it to make gorgeous beverages year round.
- If you don't have a blender you can cut your grapefruit in half and squeeze it into your bowl or measuring cup. Here is a great post and video on how to juice a pomegranate by hand.
- To make a pretty garnish out of strips of grapefruit skin, you will need a high quality fruit/vegetable peeler. This is the peeler I use for everything! It's super high quality, dishwasher safe and really affordable. It makes working with thick skinned fruits and vegetables easy.
Sparkling Pomegranate And Grapefruit Palomas!
Ingredients
Cocktail
- 1 large pomegranate
- 1 large grapefruit
- ¾ cup (6oz) tequila *100% agave
- ½ cup (4oz) champagne *see note below
- 1 teaspoon grapefruit zest
- 1 pinch ground cardamom
Garnish
- Grapefruit peel
- Fresh rosemary sprigs
- Pomegranate seeds
Recipe notes:
Champagne: choose whichever brand you like best! Sparkling white or rose wine will also work nicely!Instructions
- Zest grapefruit until you have about a teaspoon of flakes and set aside.
- Peel the grapefruit and place flesh in a blender.
- Seed pomegranate and place fruit in the blender (reserve a few seeds for garnish if you like)!
- Puree seeds and grapefruit for 20-30 seconds. Place a fine mesh colander over a small bowl or Pyrex measuring cup and use the back of a spoon to squeeze juices from the pulp.
- Add tequila, grapefruit zest and cardamom to fruit juices and whisk well to combine.
- Fill four small cocktail glasses (6-8 oz in size) halfway with ice. Divide mixture evenly into each glass. Top with champagne and garnish!
- Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?!
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Juliet says
Pinning and printing this one ... yum! xo
stacey_olson says
Woohoo! Enjoy, friend!