Lower-calorie RTDs for the holidays

The holidays are a time infamous for weight gain, sometimes from all the goodies eaten, but just as often from the beverages ingested.

With that in mind, the makers of a line of ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails named Ivana B Skinny -- get it, nudge, nudge? I wanna be skinny -- are pushing what they see as their lower-calorie option.

The RTDs, from importer International Spirits LLC, are wine-based. They are available in margarita, cosmopolitan and appletini flavors with 10% alcohol, all less than 100 calories per 5-ounce serving.

"We did a lot of experimenting with alcohol-based vs. wine-based drinks and found that wine makes the drinks sweeter, more flavorful and keeps the calories lower," said Tony Elward, CEO and co-owner of International Spirits. "Taste was our highest priority. We didn't stop until our taste testers told us it was the best low-calorie cocktail out there."

Ivana B Skinny cocktails are available in 16 states -- Florida, Georgia, California, New Jersey, Ohio, Maine, South Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland -- and the District of Columbia.

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