I know what you’re thinking… a Skinnygirl Margarita review from the “It’s just the booze dancing…” crew? Before you mock, let me give you the back story…
This past Sunday, while on the way to the In-Laws, I made a stop at the Canal’s liquor store in Berlin, NJ to see if they had any interesting beers in stock (the Sam Adams Latitude 48 Deconstructed IPA 12 pack is on my “Must Buy!” list). Before I went in, Mrs. G-LO asked me to pick up a bottle of the Skinnygirl Margarita since she was curious to give it a try. I laughed, I mocked, but while pulling together a mixed six-pack, I was overcome with a wave of generosity and decided to see if they carried this potentially vile concoction. It turns out they actually stocked the stuff, so I reluctantly picked up a bottle ($15 for a 750ml bottle!). With my purchases made, I walked back to the car and headed to my In-Laws.
Mrs. G-LO and my Mother-In-Law each had a glass of the Skinnygirl Margarita, while I had a Yuengling Lager with my Father-In-Law and grilled some marinated flank steaks. Curiosity got the best of me, so I decided to take a sip. To say that it was weak would be an understatement! When made correctly, Margaritas are supposed to be tart and VERY potent (remember my reverse beer goggles story?). This was neither. But don’t just take my word for it. Here is a brief Q&A that I had with the Mrs. about an hour ago:
- G-LO: You do realize that you left that bottle of Skinnygirl Margarita at your Mom’s on Sunday.
- Mrs. G-LO: Yeah. It wasn’t very good.
- G-LO: Aha! So you agree with me! So what exactly didn’t you like about it?
- Mrs. G-LO: I dunno… I guess it wasn’t tart enough. It fell a little flat.
While I applaud Betheny Frankel’s attempt to create a tasty, low calorie drink, there is no way in hell that I can endorse this product. It may be low calorie, but it’s far from tasty.
If you want a real Margarita, I recommend that you try the following recipe from David Wondrich and Esquire magazine:
- Silver Tequila 2 ounces
- Cointreau 1 ounce
- Lime Juice 1 ounce
Shake well with cracked ice, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass that has had its rim rubbed with lime juice and dipped in coarse salt.
Keep it simple! Keep it strong!
One last thing…
While this review may be harsh, Betheny Frankel is having the last laugh. Her Skinnygirl line of low calorie cocktails was recently sold to Fortune Brands Beam Global (makers of Jim Beam Bourbon) for around $120 million. Meanwhile, I’m out fifteen bucks.
Categories: Booze Review, Skinnygirl
AMKrouse
The Alemonger
G-LO
limpd
The Wookie
The ROK
Sarah -BeautifulTangibleThings
The Astounding Prism
It's just the booze dancing... 
Chalk another bottle sale up to a sleek marketing campaign.
Thanks for the “heads up” review. I’ll make sure to avoid the lunatic premixed with the booze already inside aisle next time I’m feeling generous. That said, while I’m sure the skinny parts of this mix are the primary culprit, I’ve rarely found any premixed margarita “juice” to be worth drinking. To be fair, I greatly prefer straight tequila, neat, no lime. On occasion I’ll join the masses and have a margarita but only when they’re made from fresh ingredients and small batch tequila. Yes, I’m a tequila snob too.
I do see a silver lining in there for you though, seems as there there is hope for this Mrs. G-LO since she agreed with your low opinion of the skinnychick’s libation.
@TheAlemonger
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A tequila snob? You? No way!
Seriously though…
Great tequila, much like great whisk(e)y, needs no doctoring up. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t love a great tequila or whisk(e)y cocktail. As was asked in a booze book that I read recently, does it really take that much effort to get a hold of some fresh squeezed juice (orange, lime, lemon, etc)? I think not.
Cheers!
G-LO
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Straight Tequila? BAD! Please do not compare it to great whiskey …. great gin, great vodka …. maybe … but not whiskey.
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It is that good. I do not joke about fine beverages.
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I am not really a tequila fan, but I did try this recently when a friend had a bottle. Upon reading the labels though, I realized it’s not even like drinking a margarita – if you’re looking at ABV (which I always do). Having a glass of this will be mostly mixer and a small bit of alcohol at like 12% – you’d be better with drinking wine and probably still save a few calories.
I didn’t really see the “rave” with this, but then again… as I mentioned, I’m not a tequila fan… but if ladies are drinking this, then they aren’t either. 😉
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Exactly! Either have a real Margarita or skip it and have a nice glass of wine. As far as tequila, there are some really good ones out there. Nice for sipping.
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Also… isn’t it 100 calories an ounce or two ounces or something crazy like that? I don’t know about you, but I don’t call that light – unless you only drink an ounce – but if that were the case, you could have an ounce of beer and fare better!
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Not sure what the serving size was, but the calories per serving was in the 100 to 150 calorie range. You’re right… a small portion of a really good beer is a better option.
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How about a full serving of really good beer, get off the couch, stop watching the “Annoying Housewives of Wherever” and hit the gym.
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That’ll work too.
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One of the funniest things I’ve ever read in Esquire was their review of the Skinnygirl Margarita mix. Laughed my ass off.
Here it is:
“Say the cute little four-year-old down the block made a bowl of lemonade but instead of sugar used Splenda and instead of lemons used lemon flavoring and put it in a big bowl filled with ice and set it in the sun so all the ice melted and the “lemonade” got kind of hot and she got bored and went inside and a Labrador retriever came along and lapped some up and then stuck his head in the bowl and got the stuff all up in his nose and sneezed uncontrollably into the bowl for a while. That’s what it tastes like. On ice.”
HA!
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Dude! We just read your comment during a Sudsy Sunday session on The Wookie’s patio. He literally LOL’d! It was that weird Wookie laugh too.
Thanks for the chuckle!
G-LO
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Wow, I thought I got a bad bottle or something. I thought, “This is so bad, there’s no way they paid her $120 million for it!” Why didn’t she just mix tequila, lime, & Contreau? It was so gross, I threw the bottle away (and I don’t normally do that). Wonder if sales will fall off… It’s not even all natural!
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Yes yes! Skinnygirl SUCKS! Only one upside… it was the easiest review I’ve ever written. 🙂
Thanks for the comment!
Cheers!
G-LO
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For what it is, it is an excellent, dry margarita, way better than all those overly sweet crap slush mixes. Throw in some real lemon, some good Blueberries, some clean crushed ice into a salted rim tumbler…chuck in the freezer, and it is brilliant. I am just sick of all the lousy ciders, spritzers, all way, way too sweet. I like that I can taste the booziness, and that it is a little mean. Sexy.
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If you’re going to go to all that effort to doctor up the Skinnygirl, why not just make a margarita from scratch? At least that way you’ll be able to use high quality Tequila. I’m sorry, but there is truly no good use for the SkinnyGirl Margarita. It is overpriced, watered down swill.
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