Palomas

"Geez, are you guys all turning into lushes? What's the story?"

Thus says Carl, Belinda and Alex's 23-year old, from one of his usual positions this week, horizontal on the couch in the living room of the Cape rental. This was in response to our commission to find tequila and grapefruit soda, so that we could make Palomas, which we had had at my wife's brother's a few nights before.

"As you get older and your kids get older, you worry about them a little less and you can drink a cocktail before dinner" I replied.

Carl's surprise is understandable. We have been sharing on the Cape with his parents for almost 20 years, and we have progressed slowly from consuming a few bottles of wine and beer during the week, to a case of wine (Alex's nephew works in a liquor store and choose some good and relatively inexpensive wines that we have never heard of, like Tannat a red from Uruguay and Albet i Noya, a white Penedes) and more, to mixed drinks. Who knows what the future holds?

Anyway, Palomas are good and easy. Here is how my brother-in-law makes them. He even brought down some grapefruit soda when they came to visit on their way to Truro.

Palomas -- for each drink (you can also make it in a pitcher, as in the photo, taken from the dock of our rental, and just multiply the ingredients proportionately)

Ingredients

• Kosher salt (optional but desirable, though we did not have any in the rental house)
• ice cubes
• 1 lime, plus 1/4 or 1/8 lime
• 1-2 ounces gold tequila
• grapefruit soda (Trader Joe's carries this, and Gus Soda [my daughter's summer employer for the summer] makes a nice pink grapefruit. Israeli Eshkoliot would be good to, and is available in some kosher markets)

Method

1. Moisten the rim of an 8 to 12 ounce glass, dip in kosher salt if desired, and fill with ice cubes.
2. Squeeze the lime into the glass.
3. Add tequila.
4. Add grapefruit soda.
5. Stir lightly and garnish with the piece of lime.