Paloma, Mi Amante

Earlier this summer, I mentioned that I was playing with an old recipe from Charles H. Baker’s The Gentleman’s Companion, for an intriguing home-infused concoction called Tequila por Mi Amante — or, Tequila for my beloved. What I haven’t mentioned is how it turned out.

Short answer: YAAAAAHHHH! MORE! MORE! MORE!

I’d been told by reliable sources that this was an excellent recipe; they understated the case. That fresh, summery brightness of the ripe strawberries marries perfectly with the sharp, peppery angles of a reposado tequila, and the result is especially toothsome.

Even better, as I’ve discovered: substitute the TPMA for regular reposado in what’s become my favorite drink of summer 2007, the Paloma.

Strawberry tequila; lime juice; salt; grapefruit soda. I feel like I’m in one of those old Warner Brothers cartoons, in which I take a sip and then my eyes should start spinning like the dials on a slot machine until they come up “JACKPOT!” as bells start to ring, my hat flies off — not that I wear a hat, but stay with me for a moment — and steam blows out of my ears accompanied by a loud, “A-OOOH-GAH! A-OOOH-GAH!”

Yes, it’s that good.

Paloma, regular style

  • 2 ounces reposado tequila
  • juice of 1/2 a lime
  • pinch coarse salt

Add ingredients to an ice-filled Collins glass; top with grapefruit soda (Jarritos is my house brand; Squirt also has a good reputation here; if you just can’t find any, try Sprite with a healthy squeeze of fresh grapefruit).

Paloma, Mi Amante

As above, substituting Tequila por Mi Amante for the reposado. A-OOOH-GAH!

20 Responses to Paloma, Mi Amante

  1. Blair — I used the Cazadores to make the mi amante, simply because that’s what I had on hand.

    I’ve found a lot to like in the Don Julio reposado, and the Herradura is very nice, too — I prefer both of these to the Cazadores.

  2. Thanks to you, I put up a batch just a few days after reading your original posting (and picked up my own first edition of The Gentleman’s Companion on Ebay). After patiently waiting for three weeks, I strained it to find that I was left with pure nectar. I haven’t done much with it yet other than sip it with a little lime, and make margaritas, which were delicious, but I’m going to give this recipe a try. (Note: for margaritas, I found it best to use 2 parts Amante to 1 part reposado, just to let a little more of the peppery backbone to shine through).

    I need to go to the Farmer’s Market this weekend to get more strawberries, so I can put up another batch while they’re still in season!

  3. The Paloma is wonderful—I’ve gone through a bottle of grapefruit soda already!

    I put up some Amate over the weekend, so in three weeks I’ll have to give the Paloma Mi Amate a go…

  4. Woah, this looks good. I’ll have to look for a good grapefruit soda, although since I have Fresca on hand I may give it a go. The Tequila pro mi Amante also looks heavenly. I just put some in the fridge a few minutes ago, so am looking forward to September. 🙂

  5. Mmmm, tequila por mi amante … boy, I love this stuff. We usually make a batch every year around Memorial Day, when the strawberries around here are at their best (although we forgot this year, d’ohh!), and have been since I saw the recipe in TGC.

    Hmm, I think I need to make a trip to the farmer’s market this weekend and see if the berries are still looking good.

    My goal (although I’m never home at quite the right time) is to make a batch of this using the super-fabulous Ponchatoula, Louisiana strawberries. Oh, man.

    We usually drink it on the rocks or shaken and up with a squeeze of lime, but oddly enough never made a cocktail with it. We’ll definitely try the Paloma mi Amante as soon as we can get a batch ready!

  6. I added about 1/4oz of Elderflower liquor and a couple dashes of orange bitters and one dash of Peach bitters to the receipe. I thought it tasted a little better…a little more pop. MMM Good!!

  7. Can I make the infusion with strawberries, let it sit the required time then strain and add a harbenero pepper and let it sit for 1 or 2 days for extra flavor and kick. Has anyone tried doing this?

  8. I made this with Hornitos reposado, which is a decent tequila – ungodly good. so next time I’m going to just pull out all the stops and use El Mayor tequila.

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