Lighter libations: Baja Bob's sugar-free mixers trim calories from cocktails

By: RUTH MARVIN WEBSTER - For the North County Times | Thursday, December 27, 2007 12:06 AM PST ∞

Egg Nog: 460 calories. Peppermint hot chocolate: 300. Hot buttered rum: 200.

There's no denying it, holiday cocktails can really pack the calories. But Baja Bob's of Encinitas is on the scene with sugar-free cocktail mixes that will help you keep the calories down.

Some of the calories in holiday cocktails (and other drinks) come from the alcohol, but many more come from the cream, the fruit juice, and especially mixers loaded with sugar.

Almost no mixed cocktail is immune. According to the American Dietetic Association, most martinis have 2 to 5 ounces of liquor, and the sugary syrups they're made with can add up to more than 800 calories for one drink.

Take a cranberry cosmopolitan. It can run more than 200 calories, but it has half that when made with a sugar-free mix.

Encinitas chiropractors Craig Cook, 43, and Chris Miller, 58, are the founders of Baja Bob's.

"We set out to give consumers an option that was both healthy and tasted good," said Cook. "Until now there was no guilt-free way to socialize and partake in mixed cocktails without consuming large quantities of sugar and calories."

Cook and Miller began their line of 13 sugar-free mixers with the Southern California favorite, the margarita.

"About nine years ago, I and a bunch of middle-aged guys would go down to Baja to go spearfishing," said Miller. "And we found out we were all on low-carb diets and couldn't drink margaritas. How many people drink Diet Coke and rum? And we thought, 'Why not make a sugar-free margarita?'"

Margaritas are a high-calorie cocktail choice with as many as 500 calories, most of which come from the sweet and sour mix. Tequila has about 90 calories per jigger (1.5 ounces) and virtually no carbohydrates.

Miller had a background in the food industry from the time when he worked at the Curtiss Candy Co. in Illinois. He set about creating a sugar-free powdered margarita mix sold in individual packets that would be lightweight and easy to ship. "I think the minimum was to produce 17,000," he said. "I think the four (original investors) put in $4,000 or $6,000 each just to see how it would do."

Miller said he spent months and months perfecting the recipe. The first product was made with aspartame, the artificial sweetener also known as Nutrasweet. The following year, they decided to make a liquid version using Splenda, which has less of a chemical aftertaste.

Even nine years later, the founders of Baja Bob's said they still don't have much competition in the field of sugar-free mixes. They say that's because the major players don't have the interest in or the passion for spending the time perfecting the right blend to make a good-tasting product.

They don't put the love and care into the product that we do," said Miller. "And we have persevered, spending hours making it taste just right."

While they both still work full time in their busy chiropractic office on Encinitas Boulevard, the two entrepreneurs (and the office staff) run the company, known as Low Carb Living, on the side.

"Craig and I have our own roles," said Miller. "He's the business guy. He mans the e-commerce and handles the money. And I'm in charge of marketing and sales."

"He's very sociable," said Cook of Miller, adding that Baja Bob's plans to have a display at the upcoming Food Show in San Diego in January. "You should see him (Miller) working the booth. He has people crowded around him."

Since the success of their original margarita mix, the Baja Bob's line has since expanded to include mai tai, pina colada, mojito, hurricane, cosmo, and apple, lemon drop and blue raspberry martini mixers. And though they have kept the name, the original campy image of a middle-aged bald man holding a cocktail and dreaming of a girl in a bikini is being phased out.

"With Baja Bob, Bob is more a state of mind," said Miller, pointing to the new logo with a glass and retro star design.

Cook and Miller said the taste of their mixers, now flavored with Splenda, are as crisp and refreshing as the full-sugar version. They are also popular for diabetics, in addition to those who are on low-carb diets or just cutting calories. "We've even heard that the hangovers are less (intense), too, because it is often the sugar, but we don't know that for sure," said Miller.

Cook and Miller said their mixer line really took off during the low-carb revolution in 2003, when the Atkins diet was popular. And though they have had difficulties placing the product in some grocery stores because of the high fees charged for product placement, Miller said they have still seen a 30 percent increase in sales this year.

"We have a cult following online," said Miller. "People want this kind of product, and we have a lot of loyal fans. They write in with their recipes and we get loads of e-mails."

Cook said he sees no reason sugar-free cocktail mixes should not be on every shelf next to the regular mixes, just like Diet Coke being beside regular Coca-Cola, and light beers next to full-calorie beers.

"We both like to have the occasional cocktail and live life without having to pack on the calories," said Cook.

Find Baja Bob's Margarita and Sweet and Sour mixes at local Bev Mo stores, or order online at www.bajabobs.com.

-- Contact staff writer Ruth Marvin Webster at (760) 740-3527 or rwebster@nctimes.com.