Margarita (low-calorie)
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 16% ABV ∙
The Margarita (low-calorie) is a skinny margarita: tequila reposado, triple sec, and fresh lime shaken with a sugar-free sweetener instead of sugar syrup.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Rim the glass with Salt
- Shake all ingredients with ice: Tequila reposado 40 mlTriple sec 15 mlLime juice 25 mlSugar-free sweetener syrup 10 mlSalt 1/2 pinch
- Strain into the ice-filled glass
- Garnish with a lime wedge
Tips
- Rim only half the glass with salt so drinkers can choose a salted or unsalted sip each time.
- Squeeze the lime fresh; with so little sweetener to cover it, bottled juice tastes flat here.
- Without real sugar syrup the drink is thin, so shake hard with plenty of ice to get it properly cold and frothy.
History
The low-calorie Margarita, popularly known as the "skinny margarita," traces to reality television personality Bethenny Frankel. In the first season of The Real Housewives of New York City, aired in 2008, she ordered a self-invented "skinny girl's Margarita" of tequila, fresh lime juice, and a small amount of triple sec. She built this into the Skinnygirl Margarita brand, a bottled low-calorie cocktail line launched in 2009, which cemented "skinny" as the term for a Margarita made with fresh juice and little or no added sugar. Bartenders later noted that a similarly lean, fresh-juice Margarita had existed for decades, so her contribution was a popular label more than a new drink.
The low-calorie Margarita keeps the tequila, lime, and orange-liqueur structure and swaps the sugar syrup for a sugar-free sweetener. The Margarita itself has no settled origin; rival claims place its creation in Mexico between 1936 and 1948.
FAQ
What is the lowest calorie margarita?
A skinny margarita, which swaps regular syrup for a sugar-free sweetener. This one comes in at about 148 calories per serving.
What's in a skinny margarita?
40 ml tequila reposado, 15 ml triple sec, 25 ml fresh lime juice, 10 ml sugar-free sweetener syrup in place of sugar syrup, and half a pinch of sea salt. Reposado gives it a slightly softer, oak-tinged taste than blanco would.
How do you make a skinny margarita?
Rim a chilled glass with salt. Shake the tequila, triple sec, lime juice, sweetener syrup, and a half pinch of salt with ice, then strain into the ice-filled glass and garnish with a lime wedge.
