Make my drink smart

Article by: By LEE SVITAK DEAN , Star Tribune
Updated: August 15, 2012 - 2:33 PM

Low-calorie, low-carb drink ready for tasting.

Pomegranate is one of two flavors of Smartini available. The other? Margarita.

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Watching your weight but ready to drink? The Smartini may be on your horizon.

The low-cal, low-carb, ready-to-drink cocktail in two flavors -- margarita and pomegranate -- has 68 calories per 3 ounces (3/8 cup). Produced by Crosby-Lakes Spirits Co., here in Minnesota, it's sweetened with the plant-based stevia from Cargill to keep those numbers low.

That means the Smartini has less than a quarter of the calories of the usual margarita (96 calories vs. 450-plus).

Served cold and on ice, the drink targets those watching their weight, but aims to appeal to a broader crowd in the ready-to-drink market.

"That means guys, too," said Leigh Ann Rodriguez, who created the beverage while searching for a substitute to drinks with alternative sweeteners. "I don't like the aftertaste of aspartame and agave has too many calories."

The beverage, rolled out in Minnesota in late July, can be sampled in tastings at many local liquor stores.

$11.99 per 750-ml bottle. Widely available in Minnesota.