Last updated: November 1, 2026
Key Takeaways
- This zero sugar non-alcoholic margarita works when the pour, sweetener format, and orange element stay in balance.
- Little Saints St. Ember replaces tequila at a true 1:1 two-ounce pour and delivers heat, weight, and aroma without sugar.
- Liquid monk fruit drops give clean sweetness that stays dissolved in a cold shaken drink, unlike erythritol, which can recrystallize.
- Orange extract replaces triple sec and delivers the citrus bridge without adding the 10–11 grams of sugar in traditional orange liqueur.
- Little Saints St. Ember, the Classic Margarita can, and the recipe below cover the zero-sugar margarita from scratch and from the can.
Explore Little Saints Margaritas
Ingredients (1 Serving)
- 2 oz Little Saints St. Ember
- 1 oz fresh lime juice, freshly squeezed
- ½ teaspoon orange extract (start here, see the orange section below)
- 8–10 drops liquid monk fruit, to taste
- 1 pinch fine salt, plus coarse salt for the rim
- Ice, cubed
- Lime wheel or wedge, for garnish
Little Saints St. Ember is the tequila in this build, poured at two ounces for two ounces.
Instructions
- Chill the glass. Cut a slit in a lime wedge, run it around the rim of a rocks glass, dip the wet edge in coarse salt, then set the glass in the freezer while you build.
- Combine in a shaker: 2 oz Little Saints St. Ember, 1 oz fresh lime juice, ½ teaspoon orange extract, 8–10 drops liquid monk fruit, and the pinch of fine salt.
- Fill the shaker two-thirds with ice.
- Shake hard for 12–15 seconds, until the tin frosts.
- Strain into the chilled, salt-rimmed glass over fresh ice.
- Garnish with a lime wheel and serve immediately.
How Little Saints Replaces Tequila In This Margarita
Little Saints St. Ember is the non-alcoholic substitute for tequila in this build, poured at two ounces for two ounces. That 1:1 pour keeps the rest of the recipe in classic margarita proportions, so the lime, orange, and sweetener do not need to scale up to compensate.
It is built on oil-based craft small-batch extracts, so it holds up in a shaken build without diluting the drink or requiring a larger pour to register.
Little Saints St. Ember is an ode to the flavors of a light, spicy mezcal, spicy, smoky, and woodsy, built on palo santo, ginger, and cardamom. It mixes like a tequila or a mezcal: two ounces replaces two ounces in a margarita, a paloma, or any classic build that calls for the spirit.
First-generation zero-proof spirits often rely on flavors in water. Spirits built on flavors in water lack ethanol's natural solvent properties, so they dilute in a shaken build and can require a two-to-three-times pour to register in a finished cocktail. Those products are widely available and simply call for a different pour and a different expectation. Little Saints St. Ember uses oil-based craft small-batch extracts, so the drink is costed and built like the cocktail it is, with two ounces of spirit presence in the glass.
Two additional details help the drink read as a cocktail rather than a soft drink. Built-in burn from cardamom and botanical extracts gives heat at the back of the throat and signals a spirit. Natural viscosity from the Lion's Mane extract gives weight in the mouth and keeps the drink from thinning out over ice.
How To Sweeten A Margarita Without Sugar
Liquid monk fruit sweetens this margarita, and the format matters as much as the ingredient. Erythritol recrystallizes as it cools, which leaves a gritty, sandy texture in a chilled shaken drink, the opposite of what you want in a margarita served over ice. Liquid monk fruit or allulose syrup stays in solution at refrigerator temperatures, so liquid drops are the right format for a cold build.
The starting dose in this recipe is 8–10 drops. That serves as a baseline, then you adjust. Sweetness perception shifts with lime acidity and with how cold the drink is. In a 2022 study, citric and tartaric acid suppressed the perceived sweetness of sucrose in both aqueous solutions and cold-brewed coffee. The suppression was lower in the more complex coffee matrix than in water, so the same number of drops will read differently depending on how aggressively the lime was squeezed and how long the drink has been over ice. Taste at serving temperature, cold, then adjust from there.
Little Saints St. Ember itself carries zero grams of sugar and no sweeteners of any kind. Every drop of sweetness in the finished glass is yours to control. For more on building a low-sugar margarita from the ground up, the Low-Sugar Non-Alcoholic Margarita: Recipe & Guide covers the full approach.
Why Orange Extract Replaces Triple Sec
Triple sec is where most of the sugar hides. A single ounce of triple sec in a classic 2:1:1 margarita accounts for roughly 90% of the drink's total sugar, approximately 10–11 grams, because triple sec is sweetened by definition. That sweetening makes it a liqueur and turns it into the single largest source of sugar in the build.
Orange extract solves that problem. A flavoring extract carries flavor compounds from a real source ingredient in a concentrated liquid base, so it delivers the orange architecture of triple sec in a fraction of the volume and with none of the sugar.
The ratio in this recipe is ½ teaspoon per serving, and that ceiling exists because orange extract is extremely concentrated. Past the mark it reads as orange cake batter or turns bitter instead of tasting like a brighter margarita. Cold drinks mute flavor compared to room temperature, so dial in the extract level cold, at serving temperature, not at bench temperature while building.
The trio of lime, orange extract, and monk fruit forms the architecture of this build. Lime provides the acid. Orange extract bridges the gap between the spirit's heat and the lime's edge, the same structural role triple sec plays in a classic margarita, without the sugar. Monk fruit adds the small roundness that keeps the drink from reading sharp. Each element does a specific job, and the balance between them makes the drink read as a margarita rather than a limeade.
For a broader look at how non-alcoholic margarita brands handle the orange and sweetener questions, the Non-Alcoholic Margarita Brands: The Label-First Buying Guide covers the category in detail.
How This Recipe Compares To Skinny Margaritas
Skipping the orange liqueur, as this recipe does, is only half the sugar story. A skinny margarita typically cuts or skips the orange liqueur but still carries sugar from agave, simple syrup, or a premade mix. "Skinny" has no fixed definition, so the sugar content varies by bar and by recipe. Independent tests of bar-ordered skinny margaritas have found sugar content ranging from roughly 13 grams up to 30 grams, depending on what the bar actually pours.
This build carries none. It has zero grams of sugar, with the only sweetness coming from the monk fruit you dose. For people reading a sugar label carefully, whether for general wellness, weight management, or any other reason, the difference between a "skinny" margarita and a genuinely zero sugar one is measurable on the label.
The full breakdown of how to build a no-sugar margarita from scratch appears in the No Sugar Margarita: How To Make A Skinny Margarita guide. For readers who want to skip the build entirely, the Little Saints Classic Margarita can, with zero grams of sugar and five calories per can, is the no-shake option.
If a premade mix is part of the consideration, the Best Sugar-Free Margarita Mixes: A Zero-Sugar Guide covers what to look for on a label. For this recipe, fresh lime juice remains the better call, since no mix adds what a freshly squeezed lime does.
Variations: Frozen, Spicy, And Pitcher Builds
The same build adapts to every format, and the reason is the 1:1 pour. Little Saints St. Ember stays at two ounces per serving in every variation, so only the ice, aromatics, and batch size change.
Frozen: Use the same measures, 2 oz Little Saints St. Ember, 1 oz fresh lime juice, ½ teaspoon orange extract, 8–10 drops liquid monk fruit, 1 pinch fine salt, plus 1 cup of ice. Blend until smooth. Salt the rim at service.
Spicy: Muddle 2–3 thin jalapeño slices in the shaker before adding the other ingredients. Shake and double-strain to remove the jalapeño solids. The spice from the jalapeño layers with the built-in heat of Little Saints St. Ember for a drink that reads as genuinely spicy rather than just warm.
Pitcher (8 servings): Combine 16 oz Little Saints St. Ember, 8 oz fresh lime juice, 4 teaspoons orange extract, 64–80 drops liquid monk fruit, and 8 pinches fine salt. Stir well, chill, and salt the rims at service. The orange extract dose is the one to watch at scale, so taste the pitcher cold before serving and adjust monk fruit drops if the balance reads sharp.
The Salt Rim And The Right Glass
The instructions mention salt twice, once in the shaker and once on the rim, and that is deliberate. Salt does two jobs in this build. A pinch of fine salt inside the shaker rounds the lime and softens the edge of the orange extract, which makes it a flavor decision, not a garnish. Coarse salt on the rim makes the first sip read as a margarita instead of a limeade. The contrast between the cold, citrus-forward drink and the mineral hit of the rim salt is part of the drink's architecture.
Use a rocks glass for this recipe. A coupe looks elegant but warms the drink faster and loses the visual weight that makes a margarita feel like a margarita. Chill the glass in the freezer while building. That step takes less than five minutes and matters more than most people expect.
Conclusion
Little Saints is the best non-alcoholic margarita option for a zero sugar margarita that actually tastes like a margarita. Little Saints St. Ember mixes 1:1 at a two-ounce pour like tequila and carries zero grams of sugar with no sweeteners at all. It also adds a stated 100mg of Lion's Mane extract at a minimum of 70% beta glucan, documented by supplier certificates of analysis.
The three decisions that make or break this drink, the pour, the sweetener form, and the orange, are all accounted for in the build above. The full Little Saints range, including Little Saints St. Ember, the Classic Margarita can, and the complete spirits and canned cocktail lineup, is available at the link below. For more on the low-sugar approach, the orange architecture, and how to read a non-alcoholic margarita label, the guides linked throughout this article cover each topic in depth.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Consult your doctor before use if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medications, or managing a medical condition.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Replaces Tequila In A Non-Alcoholic Margarita?
Little Saints St. Ember replaces tequila in a non-alcoholic margarita, poured at two ounces for two ounces. It is built on oil-based craft small-batch extracts, so it holds up in a shaken build and delivers the heat, weight, and aromatic complexity the drink needs to read as a margarita rather than a limeade.
How Much Non-Alcoholic Tequila Should I Pour?
Pour two ounces for this recipe. Little Saints St. Ember was formulated so that two ounces replaces two ounces of tequila or mezcal in any classic cocktail build.
How Do I Sweeten A Non-Alcoholic Margarita Without Sugar?
Use liquid monk fruit, starting at 8–10 drops and adjusting to taste. The full explanation of why the liquid form matters appears in the sweetener section above, including the recrystallization issue with erythritol and the zero-sugar profile of Little Saints St. Ember.
Is A Skinny Margarita Sugar Free?
Usually not. A skinny margarita typically reduces or removes the orange liqueur but still carries sugar from agave, simple syrup, or a premade mix. The sugar range and the reason the term has no fixed definition are covered in the skinny margarita comparison section above.
Does This Drink Contain Alcohol?
Little Saints St. Ember is under 0.5% ABV. The finished build is non-alcoholic. Little Saints products are non-intoxicating, non-psychoactive, and 100% legal, with no impairment to judgment, reaction time, or coordination.
Can I Make It Frozen Or By The Pitcher?
Yes. The frozen and pitcher builds use the same core ratios, with changes only to ice and batch size. Full measures appear in the Variations section above.
Can I Make It Without A Non-Alcoholic Spirit At All?
You can, although the result will read as limeade. The spirit carries the heat, weight, and aromatic complexity that signal a cocktail. Lime juice, orange extract, and monk fruit form the supporting architecture and need a spirit to support.
Is This Safe During Pregnancy, Nursing, Or While Taking Medications?
Consult your doctor before use if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medications, or managing a medical condition. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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The statements made on our website have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking any medications or have any medical conditions, consult your doctor before use.