Before we get started, we would like to say the following: We love margaritas. Simple, tasty, limey, salty. There is so much to love in a margarita, and yet, it seems so often that a really GOOD margarita is hard to find.

To make matters worse, it seems to be nearly impossible to find a good pre-made Margarita mix. This is the same problem Drink Skinny owners Christy and Steven Cegelski faced upon returning from a particularly boozy trip to Mexico, where they had discovered the delicious cocktail for themselves. Not being bartenders or in the spirit industry themselves, they searched high and low, trying mix after mix, and found that nothing they could buy matched the fresh taste that they fell in love with. Not to mention all the mixers they found were loaded in calories and The Big Bad High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Not willing to give up, they starting messing around in the kitchen and created their own mix. Unlike store bought mixes, theirs is completely natural, uses no sugar or artificial anything, and (the best part) has only 20 calories per serving. They used their (happy to oblige) friends as taste testers, and after the 500th “Hey, you guys should think about bottling this”, the wheels started to turn.

Christy and Steven formed the company Drink Skinny and started bottling in March. This is August, and according to the couple, things are moving faster than they ever thought possible. They already have Drink Skinny in specialty food stores and gourmet shops around New Hampshire, and have gone to commercial production just 5 months after launch as it was selling out faster than they could make it. The secret is simple: as Christy puts it, “We know virtually nothing about the food & beverage industry, and don’t pretend to…. we’re just trying to create the best tasting, healthiest cocktail mixers we can”.

Not that we don’t trust Steven and Christy’s friends, but we wanted to try the stuff for ourselves. We caught them right before the first commercial production batch was done, so we waited patiently for our bottle, new branding and all, to arrive. Then we got to work.

Some of you are throwing a little tantrum, screaming things incoherently about scratch margaritas and ‘real’ bartending and such. Yes, dearies, we agree. A scratch margarita is always our preference. And there are a lot of you reading this who undoubtedly are puritanical enough to even grow the limes in your backyard. But if you are like us, every once in a while you are in your sweats in the grocery store, and you walk down the beverage aisle…  you spot that section with mixers and you think to yourself, YES. I would like a Margarita. Now. We are all lazy from time to time, okay?

Tasting

We decided the fairest way to test Drink Skinny first was against it’s competitors: mixes that are all natural, with no high fructose corn syrup, all in the same price range. The two we found that were competition ready were Stirrings Simple Margarita Mix and Purista Margarita. All three of the mixes would all be mixed per the directions on the back of the bottle, and all would be mixed with the same reposado tequila. And finally,  we would test all the mixes taste-wise against a scratch margarita.

Far and away, Drink Skinny tasted the most like the scratch margarita. This was surprising really, usually something with a 20 calorie tag on it tastes like aspertame, cardboard, or just ass. Also refreshing was the use of agave nectar and stevia leaf as sweeteners instead of sugar, which both of the other mixes used. Drink Skinny was the most balanced out of the three as well. No, we didn’t gag on the other two, but the Sirrings was more lemonade-like, and tasted to all in attendance like a mix; while the Purista (to at least two of us) didn’t taste like a margarita at all. In their words “…it’s not a bad taste, just nothing like a margarita.”

And for those for whom the emphasis is on the “Skinny”? Well, the Stirrings label claims that it is All Natural with Real Juice, but a closer look at the bottle and we found ascorbic acid, pectin, and something called ‘triple sec flavor’. Hm. Not that those aren’t ‘natural’, per se, but it seems a little suspect to us. It also weighed in at 80 calories per serving, 21 g of sugar, and 21 g o’ carbs. The Purista came in at 70 calories, 5mg of sodium, 18g of sugar and 18g of carbs. Also suspect in the Purista: one of the ingredients is ‘natural flavor’. We always wonder what that really means.

The Verdict

With no mystery ingredients, 3g of sugar and 6g of carbs, Drink Skinny lives up to its name. And you don’t have to suffer by counting calories for this one. The Cegelski’s took a simple idea and turned it into a delicious one. And as if a delicious, low calorie mixer wasn’t enough, Christy and Steven donate 10% of their profits to organizations that help make the world a better place, and use recycled and biodegradable packing materials. Like we said, completely guiltless.

Makes us feel warm and fuzzy all over. Or maybe that’s just the margarita.

While Drink Skinny might not be in a store near you YET, you can get it online at www.drink-skinny.com. Cheers!

*The original title of this article has been changed as we were recently informed that the descriptive word we used violated a trademark of another margarita mix. We were not aware that one could indeed trademark a descriptive word…we stand corrected. Sorry for any confusion we might have caused.

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