Hot evenings were made for this.

Disclaimer: on days like this, we should all drink more water. Drink water all day long. As long as you've done that...

...you've earned one of these when you come home.

Every time Joel, or in this case, I, make a Paloma (that beautiful beverage pictured above), I am stricken with the worst earworm of a German pop hit from the late 1990s by the Ö La Palöma Boys. It was extremely popular when I was over there in high school, in a similar way that Weird Al's "Amish Paradise" was in the states.

I suffer through it because this drink is worth it. It's cold, bubbly and citrusy, and perhaps my favorite vehicle for my least favorite alcohol: tequila.

In most cases, tequila is the same thing as a bad idea: the last-minute, "Why not?" shot that pushes you over the line. In other cases, it's brainlessly paired with Mr. & Mrs. T's Margarita Mix, which has so much sugar you're guaranteed a headache. It wasn't until recently that I drank a margarita without a mix - with real lime juice and triple sec - and realized that tequila is not the enemy I always thought it was. It's still not my favorite flavor, but it is unlike anything else, and I guess that's enough to make me enjoy it on occasion.

The Paloma is on Joel's slate of go-to party beverages: it's easy to prepare and has a perfectly balanced taste, as long as you have grapefruit soda on hand, which is almost never the case. It's become one of those things that I see at the store and think, "Oh yeah, we need grapefruit soda for something..." but can't remember what.

This is what.

La Paloma

2 oz. tequila
pinch of salt
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
grapefruit soda (I like Izze)

Combine the tequila, salt and lime juice in a high-ball glass. Add ice, top with soda and stir.