Mixers

Grapefruit Soda

Grapefruit soda is a sweet, fizzy grapefruit soft drink without alcohol, and the IBA Paloma is built on it, at 100ml of the soda to 50ml of tequila plus lime and salt. It supplies fruit, sweetness and bubbles together, so the drink takes no syrup, and the better bottles keep some of the fruit’s bitterness.

Quick Facts

ABV0% ABV

Legal categoryNon-alcoholic

Flavour Strengthmedium

Our keeping timeUnopened: to the best-before date. Opened: a day or two, resealed and refrigerated, before it goes flat.

Storage

Cool and dark, sealed, and refrigerated once opened, though in our experience an opened bottle loses its carbonation within a day or two and a Paloma built on flat soda is a noticeably worse drink. Buy the size you will actually finish.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens. Recipes change: check the bottle.

The ingredient

About Grapefruit Soda

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

GrapefruitBittersweetCarbonatedCitrus pith

Tasting Notes

Sweet grapefruit with the pith bitterness left in, carried on firm carbonation and finishing drier than the sugar content suggests.

One bottle does three jobs in a Paloma

The IBA Paloma takes pink grapefruit soda, 100ml of it, to 50ml of tequila, with just 5ml of lime and some salt, and our recipe keeps those measures. The soda carries the fruit and sugar as well as the length, so no syrup is needed. Build the drink on fresh grapefruit juice instead and it needs soda water for length and syrup for balance, and it comes out sharper.

The Cantaritos goes the other way, building fresh orange, lime and grapefruit juices under 90ml of soda, so the bottled and the fresh fruit meet in one glass.

Bitterness is the useful part

Grapefruit has bitterness alongside its acidity, and naringin, a flavanone glycoside in the fruit, is its primary bitter ingredient, a 2022 review says. A soda made with grapefruit juice keeps some of it; one built on flavouring and citric acid tastes thinner. The salt in a Paloma works on that bitterness: a 1997 paper in Nature by Breslin and Beauchamp found that salt enhances flavour by suppressing bitterness, which lets the fruit come forward.

Grapefruit soda against the bottles it gets confused with

Grapefruit soda

Sweet: Yes
Bitterness from: Grapefruit, where juice is in it
Alcohol: None
Typical use: Paloma, Cantaritos

Grapefruit tonic

Sweet: Usually less
Bitterness from: Quinine as well as grapefruit
Alcohol: None
Typical use: Gin long drinks

Fresh grapefruit juice

Sweet: No
Bitterness from: Pith and flesh
Alcohol: None
Typical use: Sours, and the fresh-juice Paloma

Mixer	Sweet	Bitterness from	Alcohol	Typical use
Grapefruit soda	Yes	Grapefruit, where juice is in it	None	Paloma, Cantaritos
Grapefruit tonic	Usually less	Quinine as well as grapefruit	None	Gin long drinks
Fresh grapefruit juice	No	Pith and flesh	None	Sours, and the fresh-juice Paloma

Three lines on the label tell you most

The juice content predicts the drink better than the brand does. The sugar figure tells you how sweet a Paloma will be. And the ingredients say whether lime has gone in already: if it has, taste before adding your own. Our Cantaritos line suggests a Mexican grapefruit soda, and a drier one keeps that drink sharper.

Opened, it goes flat fast

Store bottles somewhere cool and dark, then chill them before you need them. Once one is open, we give it two days in the fridge at most. When the soda fills most of the glass, a flat one spoils everything, so buy bottles you will finish quickly.

Using it

Using Grapefruit Soda

Usage

Topped onto tequila over ice: 100ml in our Paloma, 90ml on top of three fresh juices in the Cantaritos. It carries the sugar for both, so neither takes syrup. Chill the bottle well and let the soda run in slowly so the bubbles survive.

Pro Tip

If a Paloma tastes sweet and flat, change the soda before changing the recipe. A drier bottle with grapefruit juice in it fixes more than extra lime does.

Top Tips

Read the juice content: it predicts the drink better than the brand name does.
Check for lime on the label before squeezing more into a Paloma.
Chill it well and add it slowly, so the fizz lasts.
Pair it with salt. A pinch stirred in or a salted rim softens the bitter edge.

Possible Substitutions

Fresh Grapefruit Juice: Lengthened with soda water and sweetened with simple syrup: sharper and fresher

Production Method

Carbonated water, grapefruit juice or flavouring (sometimes lime too), citric acid, and sugar or a sweetener.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What is grapefruit soda?

A sweetened, carbonated grapefruit drink, usually pale pink or pale yellow. Better ones contain grapefruit juice; cheaper ones lean on flavouring and citric acid. It contains no alcohol, and it is the standard mixer for a Paloma.

What grapefruit soda should I use for a Paloma?

The IBA spec asks for pink grapefruit soda. Look for one with grapefruit juice on the ingredients and some bitterness, and check whether lime is already in it. A drier soda makes a sharper Paloma; a sweet one gives a softer result that salt and lime only partly correct.

Can I use grapefruit juice instead of grapefruit soda?

Yes, and it makes a different Paloma: fresh pink grapefruit juice brings the fruit, simple syrup the sugar and soda water the fizz. Start with juice and soda in equal parts and sweeten to taste. Expect a brighter, tarter drink. Squeeze the juice on the day, as with any citrus.

Is grapefruit soda the same as grapefruit tonic?

No. Grapefruit tonic contains quinine, which adds a drier, more medicinal bitterness and suits gin. Grapefruit soda has no quinine and is usually sweeter and fruitier. In a Paloma, a tonic makes a drier, more bitter drink than intended.

Why is there salt in a Paloma?

To work on the grapefruit’s bitterness. A 1997 paper in Nature by Breslin and Beauchamp, titled “Salt enhances flavour by suppressing bitterness”, found that salt cuts bitterness and so lets other flavours come forward. A pinch, as the IBA Paloma gives it, does that without making the drink taste salty.

Does grapefruit soda go flat quickly?

Yes, once opened, in our experience. We recap it and keep it in the fridge, and we use it up within two days or so. Soda is about two parts in three of a Paloma, so a tired bottle makes a sweet, lifeless drink. Small bottles or cans suit a home bar better than a large one.

What drinks use grapefruit soda?

Two of ours: the Paloma, tequila lengthened with 100ml of soda, and the Cantaritos, which tops tequila with fresh orange, lime and grapefruit juices and 90ml of soda. Beyond tequila, it lengthens vodka or gin, and mezcal in place of tequila makes a smoky Paloma.

What is in Fever-Tree Pink Grapefruit Soda?

Fever-Tree’s UK site lists carbonated spring water, red grapefruit juice from concentrate, fructose, pink grapefruit juice, citric acid, natural grapefruit flavouring, sodium bicarbonate and ascorbic acid, at 4.6g of sugar per 100ml. It names red and pink grapefruit from Alicante, and its own Paloma serve is tequila, the soda and a grapefruit slice.

Sources.

Checked between 17 October and 19 October 2026.

Nature, “Salt enhances flavour by suppressing bitterness (Breslin and Beauchamp, 1997)”.
Avicenna Journal of Phytomedicine (Alam, Ahsan and Mahmood, 2022), via PubMed Central, “Meticulous parade on naringin respecting its pharmacological activities and novel formulations” (peer-reviewed review: naringin a bitter flavanone glycoside that gives grapefruit juice a bitter taste; in grapefruit, pummelo, sour orange and kumquat the primary bitter ingredient (citing Horowitz and Gentili, 1969)).
International Bartenders Association, “Paloma”.
Fever-Tree (UK), “Pink Grapefruit Soda”.

Make something

Made with Grapefruit Soda

Featured In These Cocktails

Cantaritos Paloma

Updated 19 October 2026

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