The Liberty Hotel
drinks, because they don’t contain a lot
of expensive ingredients, and people
have no problem spending that amount of
money on a cocktail. And there’s a need
for it, particularly among people who
won’t order off a specialty cocktail list
because of the calories.”
Sam Talbot, Chef
The Surf Lodge
Montauk, N. Y.
BLUEBERRY MOJITO
Yield: 4 cocktails
Purées, fresh fruits, coconut water or
stevia sweeten drinks on the Sleek
Cocktail menu at The Liberty Hotel, left
to right, Dream, Malibu Lift and Indulge.
Berardi uses lower-calorie liquors, purées,
fresh fruits, coconut water or stevia to
sweeten her five sleek cocktails, which
each have 150 calories or less. They’ve
become so popular, especially among
women, that they sell as well as the bar’s
signature cocktails. The most popular,
Evolve, contains Ketel One Oranje, VeeV
açai spirit, Pama liqueur, fresh lime and
orange juice, while another favorite,
Indulge, contains Godiva Chocolate
vodka, coconut milk and raw cacao.
SWEET SIPPING
It’s not just weight-watchers who will
order skinny drinks; the drinks find an
appreciative audience among diabetics,
too. Chef Sam Talbot at The Surf Lodge in
Montauk, N. Y., is a diabetic who has to be
careful of the sugar content of his favorite
drinks. So it made sense for him to come
up with cocktails using Truvia, a sweetener
with no calories and no sugar, but one that
helped bring down the calorie count of
selected cocktails to around 100.
16 blueberries
20 mint leaves
4 lemon wedges
4 lime wedges
Crushed ice
2 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 oz. fresh lime juice
8 oz. aged rum
16 packets Truvia sweetener
Lemon wedges and mint sprigs, for
garnish
“People want to look good, feel good and
play the part. So when they order a skinny
drink from the menu, it fits with their
lifestyle,” Talbot says. “Our skinny drinks
have become really popular, and they cost
the same as our other cocktails.”
Method: In cocktail shaker, muddle
blueberries, mint leaves and lemon and
lime wedges. Add crushed ice, lemon
and lime juices, rum and sweetener;
shake well. Strain over cubed or
crushed ice. Garnish with lemon
wedge and mint sprig.
“Offering these sleek cocktails aligns well
with our clientele, who tend to be healthy
people who work out, eat healthy, but
also want to socialize with their friends,”
Berardi says.
Lauren Kramer, an award-winning writer
based in Vancouver, Canada, is passionate
about gourmet food and delights in tasting
it and writing about it.
“There’s definitely an opportunity for
the bar to make money through skinny
If there’s nothing lighter than light beer on
your drinks menu, you may want to consider
adding one or two items with lower calorie
counts, says David Henkes, vice-president
at Chicago-based Technomic, Inc. “This ties
into a broader health-and-wellness trend,
with people being more conscious of what
they’re eating and drinking. Most of the
time, when they go out, they’re indulging.
And skinny drinks offer them a chance to
be indulgent—to have their cake and eat it,
too—just with less calories.”
www.acfchefs.org
