Drink · 5 min · Amounts not specified
Cantarito
Paloma's cousin with orange in the glass. Salt on the rim. Clay mug if you have one; a highball is honest.
The sheet · 1 tall glass · 5 min
easyWhy tonight. Paloma's cousin with orange in the glass. Salt on the rim. Clay mug if you have one; a highball is honest.
What it needs
Nothing confirmed on your shelf yet — this list is the whole ask.
- tequila
- orange
- grapefruit
- lime
- soda
Good if you have them, fine if you do not: smoked salt.
Method
- Three citrus juices — orange, grapefruit and lime — which is what separates it from a paloma.
- Salt the rim with coarse salt, and use plenty of ice because this is a long, slow drink.
- Tequila in, juices in, soda to top, stirred once.
- Traditionally served in a clay cup, which changes the temperature and the smell of it more than you would expect.
Technique coach
What the method is trying to make happen
Sequence, correction, heat and texture, equipment workarounds, scaling, and component reuse are available with this cook sheet.
An educational pour, not a reprint of a licensed spec. No allergen or alcohol-safety claim.
Cook or pour it, then edit the shelf if you emptied a bottle or used the last of something.
The technique underneath this
Going wrong while you cook it? Say what it is doing and the triage will tell you what is happening, the smallest move, and the instinct to resist.
Watch the technique behind this one
Third-party video. Opens in a new tab — nothing is embedded and nothing is fetched from a video platform until you click.
Reviewed video matched to this method, not to the cuisine. Opens in a new tab.
- Produce prepCitrus SupremeEpicuriousCutting the pith and membrane away so the segments come out clean — the prep behind every citrus salad.Link checked 2026-09-08
- Cocktail structureHow to make a Whiskey HighballA Bar AboveThe pour that keeps the bubbles. A highball is mostly a handling problem.Link checked 2026-09-08
- Cocktail structureBasic Cocktails - How To Make A DaiquiriCocktail ChemistryThe plainest sour there is, which makes base-acid-sweet balance easy to taste rather than merely read.197K+ views at the September 2026 review. · Link checked 2026-09-08
Why each of these is on the list
What the ingredients are actually doing
- tequila
- Agave, which brings a vegetal, peppery edge no other spirit has.
- orange
- Sweeter and rounder than lemon and lime, so it softens rather than sharpens.
- grapefruit
- Bitter as well as sour, which makes it the one citrus that can carry a drink on its own.
- lime
- Sharper and more floral than lemon, and it fades faster — juice it the same hour you use it.
- soda
- Carbonation is a texture and it is the first thing you lose.
Missing one of them? The substitutions are written against those jobs rather than against a chart, so they say what each replacement costs this dish in particular.
Cooks from the same box
If you bought for this, you can already make these
Shares tequila, grapefruit, soda
Paloma
Citrus family may cover grapefruit.
Shares tequila, soda, lime
Ranch water
Tequila, lime and sparkling mineral water. Three ingredients, no sugar at all, and the most refreshing thing at any summer table.
Shares grapefruit, soda, lime
Mezcal Paloma
Grapefruit, soda and lime over mezcal. Long, low and the easiest way into mezcal for somebody who thinks they dislike it.
Shares tequila, grapefruit, lime
Spicy Paloma
A slice of jalapeño, not a handful. Soda last.
Next
Cook it, then tell the shelf what you used.
The ranking is only as honest as the shelf behind it. Empty the cream, and everything that leaned on cream should stop being offered.