nightcap: the paloma 

Some years ago, my husband and I hatched a crazy plan. We decided to get rid of (almost) everything we owned, sell the house, and hit the road.

I’m not sure why. Probably we watched Fight Club too many times. We read too many blogs about the ‘Digital Nomad’ lifestyle, and we have trouble with moderation. We’re intense people, both of us, and whatever we do is pretty much all or nothing.

So we did it. After many, many trips to Goodwill, and a small storage unit for the few things we kept, we hit the road. It was me, the husband, and (this is the ‘aha!’ moment) our five year old and one year old. It was a terrible idea. I mean it was an incredible idea, but it was also….really, really stupid, if you get me.

We had grand plans to head west to California, then north to Canada. As it happened we quit after our second stop, Austin, Texas. But first we spent two months in Baton Rouge with my best friend and her family. It was a sweet summer. Some of my favorite memories from that time are the days she and I were able to get away together. Mother’s Day was one of the best. And our happy hour drinks on that day included one I had never tried before, but which immediately became a personal favorite: a sweet sister to that most well-know tequila drink ever, the Margarita — the Paloma.

Every season I come up with a couple of staple cocktails to rotate through, but I pretty much always have the ingredients for a Paloma on hand, at least in the summer. Try the classic version with grapefruit & lime below, or mix it up with blood orange juice, sliced jalapeños, mezcal, or pretty much whatever you can think of.

What’s your staple summer cocktail? Tell us about it in the comments below!