Sometimes, it’s hard to pin down how a trend gets started, and the Fluffy Paloma is no exception. Yet, this cocktail is blowing up and seems to be in demand all over the world. So, what exactly is it? And how do you get that frothy texture that makes this drink so “fluffy”?
The Fluffy Paloma
The Fluffy Paloma is essentially a Paloma with frothy grapefruit juice, which means a slight tweak to the classic IBA-certified recipe. The ingredients are still the same: 50 milliliters of tequila (100% agave), 100 milliliters of pink grapefruit soda, 5 milliliters of lime juice, and a pinch of salt.
Traditionally, you’d make it by using a highball glass, pouring in the tequila and lime juice, then adding salt and ice cubes before topping it off with soda and gently stirring.
To make a Fluffy Paloma, though, you swap out the soda for freshly squeezed grapefruit juice and work it until it’s nice and frothy. A cocktail is considered “fluffy” when there’s foam that changes the texture of the drink.
How to Get That Frothy Foam
To create the foam, you need to introduce air into the juice. This can be done with professional juicers designed to mix at high speeds. But if you don’t have it, no worries—regular blenders (handheld or otherwise) or even milk frothers work just fine.
Some folks prefer to do one big blitz, while others like to blend in short bursts—four or five times with a couple of seconds of rest in between. Which method is better? That’s still up for debate.
Regardless of the method, remember that the juice will keep its ideal fluffy consistency for only a short window of time. In just a few minutes, it can start to deflate, so you’ve got to work quickly. And it’s best to avoid emulsifiers; they might make the foam more stable, but they also make it denser, losing that fresh, airy quality you get from whipping in air.
And finally, no shaking allowed! Shaking your fluffy juice will kill it before it even hits the glass. This rule applies not just to grapefruit juice but to any juice—lemon, orange, you name it.
Why Froth Up Fruit Juice?
Frothing juice achieves two things. The most obvious is the light, airy texture. But pros will tell you there’s another, less obvious effect: the taste and aroma of the juice become more pronounced once it’s been whipped up. In other words, the flavors tend to stand out more.
How Did We Get to the Fluffy Paloma Trend?
As we mentioned, it’s tricky to trace the origins of a trend, but in the case of the Fluffy Paloma, there’s a date that might have played a key role. We’re talking about sometime in 2018, probably the latter half of the year.
During these months, the eyes of the mixology world were on Dante, a celebrated bar in New York. Here, Naren Young was serving up a version of the Garibaldi with frothy orange juice. The idea caught on, people saw its potential, and soon enough, other bars started experimenting with fluffy fruit juices. One thing led to another, and that’s probably how we ended up with the Fluffy Paloma trend.
Photo: Fluffy Paloma by Alain Achkar, Camparino in galleria, credits Julie Couder & Coqtail, all rights reserved.
