Low Carb Margarita Experiment - 3rd Time's the Charm?

You may wonder: will she ever get tired of margaritas?  I'm not sure what the answer to that question is in the long run, but for now, I'm hanging in there.

Here's quick recap of what's happened to date with our Low Carb Margarita Experiment: our first attempt at a low carb margarita got 3 out of 5 stars, mostly because I can't stand the aftertaste of liquid Splenda, but my husband thought the cocktail was spot on.   The second attempt at a low carb margarita got 3.5 out of 5 stars because, although the taste with Truvia was better than with liquid Splenda, there was still a hint of aftertaste that bugged me, but was not an obstacle to me finishing the drink on my own; I also wasn't crazy about the extra step of making the microwave simple syrup with the Truvia.

Our third attempt is something that my husband didn't actually get to sample.  You see, I came home very late last night after a City meeting, and Pete was already in bed.  It was that kind of a night, so I thought I would enjoy a small night cap.  That nightcap was a margarita.  Here's what I came up with on take three.

(Once again, I'm using Laura Dolson's original recipe as my base.)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons) water
• 1 jigger (1.5 oz) tequila
• 2 Tablespoons (1 oz) lime juice - bottled more convenient, fresh tastes a lot better
• 1/4 teaspoon orange extract
• 1 oz of pomegranate juice
• 1 packet of Truvia
• Ice - small handful
• Margarita salt or kosher salt

Directions

1. Combine all the ingredients (minus the salt), and stir stir stir until fully incorporated and the liquid is icy cold.
2. Serve in a salt-lined glass if you wish.  I like mine without salt, on the rocks.  Or... if you like it frozen, just dump the margarita and rocks into a blender and let it whir, baby.

Here was my thought process: I hypothesized that the pomegranate juice would sweeten up the margarita just enough without destroying the carb count.  So, I put one ounce of the juice in (which added about 3 grams of net carb to the drink), and took a sip before I added any artificial sweetener.  It was WAY too tart, so I added the packet of Truvia.

So, the carb count was about 5.5 grams per large serving.  However, the pomegranate juice didn't really add that much sweetness or pomegranate flavor, although it did turn the margarita pleasantly pink.  The Truvia didn't dissolve completely, but I didn't notice that until I looked at the bottom of the glass and saw a few crystals clinging to the bottom.

Honestly, this wasn't a bad margarita, but I'm going to give it 3 out of 5 stars because, for the extra 3 grams of carbohydrate, there wasn't any noticeable improvement in flavor.

My next experiment will involve Thai coconut palm sugar paste (jaggery), which is a natural, less refined form of sugar that has 3 grams of net carbohydrate per tablespoon.  I just have to grab some at Whole Foods today.  Onwards!!