There is probably something already like this out there, but it is much more fun to try and come up with it yourself. I was trying to find an alternative to death by Cosmopolitan martini. Result: the Cape Cosmo.

http://www.corrundum.net/post/Cape-Cosmo.aspx

I invented the Flaming Camel. But that damn Moe stole the recipe and ruined it for me.

Funny you should bring this up because I've been looking to do the same thing with Margaritas. The problem with a well-made margarita is that you can just knock them back so easy. Next thing you know, it's been an hour and you've had like 4 or 5. Like some wines, sometimes I wish you could just magically remove the booze because I just want to keep drinking them for the taste of it but, for obvious reasons, can't just keep pounding them.

With that in mind, I've wondered if there would be a market for a section of drinks that are intentionally "watered down" but larger. Like, the amount of booze that you'd get in a normal margarita but with more other stuff. Like you discovered, the problem lies in the fact that you simply can't just add more of everything else that normally goes with it or it won't taste right. And, while I actually don't mind just adding some soda to some drinks, a watered down Margarita just tastes thin and lame. In our case, I've found that if I just add equal parts of one of our Aguas Frescas (say watermelon) to a house margarita, it's pretty damned tasty. That's likely because the watermelon juice itself is balanced and refreshing, so it doesn't mess with the balance of the drink.

An experienced bartender once told me he puts a little OJ in a lot of drinks because OJ is both sweet and tangy in the right proportions. So it's sort of like a crutch that bails out a drink that might be too long one way or the other. So it doesn't surprise me that it worked for your purposes as well.

det, I'm always very conscious of the amount of alcohol I'm drinking when I'm out at a nice restaurant. Too much booze can trash the palate and you can't experience the meal properly. I'm not so sure if you could market a less potent drink as such, but people may continue to buy them if they weren't getting trashed quickly. That's a tough question. Maybe you could start a fad, a "lighter" bar offering, say five or six designer drinks that were less than 5% alcohol. That may sell.

Assuming I do this, and I do plan to, I'll likely just write some version of the bit I mentioned above in my e-newsletter. Create a bit of a ground-swell that way. Then people will start seeing others receiving these pint glass sized cocktails and ask what's up with them and so on. I think it could take off, though I would imagine they'd do best in the summer months, which of course, are behind us.