Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar
Newport Beach, Calif.
FLEMING’S TICKLED PINK
(99-CALORIE COCKTAIL)
Yield: 1 cocktail
99-calorie cocktail on the beverage menu
for the past two years. “Fleming’s has
always been committed to having a low-calorie cocktail on the menu,” says Marian
Jansen op de Haar, director of wine. While
she enjoys the challenge of creating
skinny drinks, she confesses that making
them truly low-calorie while still fun and
delicious is by no means easy.
1 oz. Belvedere vodka
1 oz. sugar-free raspberry preserves
1 orange wedge, squeezed, dropped
in shaker
1½ oz. Mionetto prosecco
2 fresh raspberries, for garnish
“The key to a delicious low-cal cocktail is
finding just the right balance of alcohol
and natural ingredients that are really
flavorful and don’t add too much to
the calorie count,” she explains. “Other
restaurants offer low-cal cocktails, but
they can be up to 200 calories, which is
not really my idea of low-cal.”
Method: Shake vodka, preserves and
orange wedge on ice. Pour prosecco
into martini glass; add contents of shaker.
Garnish with raspberries on bar pick.
GREAT TASTE
After several guests requested skinny
drinks, Z’Tejas Southwestern Grill, a
chain of 11 restaurants headquartered
in Scottsdale, Ariz., launched a line of six
naturally skinny drinks in July 2010. “We
worked with vendors to come up with
recipes for the skinny drinks, and finalized
them in conjunction with Patrick Henry
Creative Promotions in Stafford, Texas,”
says Deborah Topcik, director of marketing.
margarita, made with Cabo Wabo
Reposado tequila, triple sec, lime juice,
Herradura agave nectar and soda water
is the No. 6 seller.
Last summer, Jansen op de Haar came
up with a new skinny drink she calls the
Bikinitini. No surprise, it appealed widely
to the female diners at Fleming’s. “It was a
huge hit,” she recalls. “It contained Svedka
Clementine vodka, lemon and orange juice,
Splenda and soda, and was garnished with
three mini-marshmallows as a toast to the
eponymous yellow polka-dot bikini.”
“Offering great-tasting drinks with
fewer calories is a great opportunity for
us,” Topcik says. “In the summer, we’ll
In her most recent recipe, Tickled
Pink, Jansen op de Haar used a house
raspberry preserve made from Truvia
sweetener, as well as frozen raspberries
balanced with freshly squeezed orange
juice. “To make it even more fun, I added
some Italian prosecco sparkling wine to
give it a bit of effervescence,” she says.
“The vodka base is a great mixer for a
designer cocktail, and since this one was
going to be offered from Valentine’s Day
through Mother’s Day, I wanted it in a
lovely pink color.”
On the skinny menu is the VeeV Spa
Cooler, with cucumbers, mint, VeeV açai
spirit and lime juice; the Lemon Skinny
dip, which is Belvedere vodka, Herradura
agave nectar and lemon juice; and the
Grand Smash, containing Grand Marnier
liqueur with muddled lemon and mint.
The skinny drinks sell for $8.25 each,
which puts them in the same ballpark as
Z’Tejas’ other margaritas and cocktails.
Of the chain’s 30 margaritas, the skinny
Cucumbers, mint, VeeV açai spirit and
lime juice make up the VeeV Spa Cooler
at Z’Tejas Southwestern Grill.
Z’Tejas Southwestern Grill
