Low-Carb Alcohol: The Top 10 Drinks

Just because you’re dieting, doesn’t mean you can’t live a little! And whether you like a glass of wine with dinner or a cocktail out with friends, watching your carbohydrate intake doesn’t necessarily mean your indulging needs to come to a full stop.

There are many low-carb options out there for dieters who like to drink. As with everything, moderation is key. Heavy drinking isn’t good for anyone, but having a few carb-conscious cocktails here and there won’t hurt. This is especially true when you consider that some of the drinks that made our top 10 list are 100 percent carb-free!

Why so much liquor?

When it comes to low-carb alcohol, distilled spirits are the safest bet. They’re virtually all free of carbohydrates, so you only need to worry about what you’re mixing them with. But not everyone likes drinking hard liquor, so we’ve included some dieter-friendly beers and wines, too.

1. Diet Jack and Coke

Diet Jack and Coke

Obviously, a regular cola would shatter your daily carbohydrate allowance. But diet soda lends itself to numerous carb-free cocktails. This spin on the traditional Jack and Coke simply uses Diet Coke instead.

Make! Mix one jigger (1.5 ounces) of whiskey with Diet Coke, and pour over ice.

estimated calories (per serving): 100
estimated carbohydrates (per serving): 0 grams

Cuba Libre

When you’re using diet cola, you can make any simple favorite low-carb. Despite its sweet flavor, rum doesn’t contain any carbs either.

Make! Mix your favorite unflavored rum with diet cola and serve over ice. For an added twist, throw in a piece of lime.

estimated calories: 100
estimated carbohydrates (with a twist of lime): <1 gram

3. Carb-free gin and tonic

Carb-free gin and tonic

Gin and tonics are great summertime drinks. They’re crisp and cool, but tonic water is loaded with carbs. It contains 32 grams per 12-ounce can! Swap out soda water for your tonic, and you’ll get the flavor without hurting your diet efforts.

Make! Mix one jigger of gin with soda water, add a squeeze of lemon or lime, and serve over ice.

estimated calories: 150
estimated carbohydrates: <1 gram

4. Low-carb mojito

Low-carb mojito

The traditional mojito uses syrup for sweetening, but if you use a diet lemon-lime soda like Diet Sierra Mist or Diet Sprite, you can get the sweetness without the carbs.

Make! Mix one jigger of rum with fresh lime juice and diet lemon-lime soda, and pour onto muddled mint leaves. Then pour over ice.

estimated calories: 110
estimated carbohydrates: 1.5 grams

5. Michelob ULTRA

Michelob ULTRA

More flavorful beers contain more sugar.
Beer contains protein, fiber, and B vitamins.

Beer doesn’t typically make it onto low-carb lists because most kinds are loaded with carbohydrates. Some light beers, however, won’t hurt your efforts too much, including Michelob ULTRA.

estimated calories: 95
estimated carbohydrates: 2.6 grams

Remember, a single glass of wine is about 5 ounces.

Pinot grigio

If you like your wine cold and refreshing, pinot grigio is a good option without too many carbohydrates.

estimated calories: 123
estimated carbohydrates: 3 grams

Sauvignon blanc

Sauvignon blanc also earns a place on your low-carb wine rack.

estimated calories: 120
estimated carbohydrates: 3 grams

If red wine is more your style, pinot noir is another excellent low-carb option.

estimated calories: 122
estimated carbohydrates: 3.4 grams

9. Beck’s Premier Light

Beck’s Premier Light

If you need a little more flavor with your bubbles, Beck’s light beer might do the trick! It’s another one of the beer hall’s lower-carb options.

estimated calories: 63
estimated carbohydrates: 3.8 grams

10. Low-carb sea breeze

Low-carb sea breeze

A sea breeze is a fruity, summertime drink, but it doesn’t have to be filled with sugar. Traditionally, it’s made with grapefruit juice, but using Diet Squirt instead eliminates the extra carbs.

Make! Mix 1 jigger of vodka with 2 ounces of unsweetened cranberry juice and 4 ounces of Diet Squirt. Pour over ice.

estimated calories: 110
estimated carbohydrates: 6 grams

Artificial sweeteners do negatively impact gut bacteria and can indirectly cause blood sugar levels to rise, so they are no magic bullet. Moderation is still essential. Knowing what’s in your alcoholic drinks can help you make intentional choices about your beverages and keep you on track with your health goals.

Alcohol facts. (2008, June 30). Retrieved from http://consumerfed.org/_archives/elements/www.consumerfed.org/file/food/CFA_Alcohol_Facts_Poster_FINAL.pdf
CFA Reveals Alcohol, Calories and Carbs in Top Selling Beer, Wine and Distilled Spirits Brands [Press release]. (2008, June 30). Retrieved from http://consumerfed.org/_archives/elements/www.consumerfed.org/file/Alcohol_Poster_Press_Release_FINAL_06.30.08.pdf
Statistics Report: 14155, Beverages, carbonated, tonic water. (2016, May). Retrieved from https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/4235?fgcd=&man=&lfacet=&count=&max=50&sort=default&qlookup=tonic+water&offset=&format=Stats&new=&measureby=

Best Low-Carb or Sugar-Free Alcoholic Beverages and Cocktails

How to Lower the Carbs and Sugar in Drinks and Cocktails

Cocktails, beer, and wine can be high in carbohydrates and sugar. Many low-carb diets restrict them, at least in the first phase. But if you want to enjoy an alcoholic drink from time to time, you can learn which ones are best and how to lower the carbs in your favorite cocktails.

Where Do the Carbs Come From in Alcoholic Beverages?

Alcohol is produced by fermentation as yeast act on high-carbohydrate grain or fruit (such as grapes) to digest the sugars. Whatever sugars are left contribute to the carbohydrate in the beverage, such as in beer and wine. However, distillation harvests only the alcohol from the products of fermentation, and therefore distilled spirits have no carbohydrates. Liqueurs have sugar added to these spirits.

Our bodies treat alcohol and carbohydrate quite differently. From a calorie standpoint, one gram of alcohol provides the body with 7 calories per gram, whereas carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram. Moreover, the body uses the calories from alcohol for energy before carbohydrate or fat. Alcohol can cause your blood sugar to be erratic, depending upon the type, amount, and whether you have food in your stomach. For a low-carb diet, you can learn the carb counts of different types of alcohol, beer, and wine, and how to make cocktails that are lower in sugar.

Distilled spirits such as rum, vodka, whiskey, gin, and tequila have no carbohydrates. You can have them as a shot, on the rocks, or with a mixer. Mixers are either naturally carb-free and calorie-free (club soda, sparkling water, plain water) or come in diet versions (tonic water, ginger ale, cola, lemon-lime soda such as 7-Up or Sprite).

Highballs are made with just these mixers and liquor. They are easy to make sugar-free. For example:

Gin (or vodka) and diet tonic
Jack and Coke (made with diet cola)
Scotch and soda
Seven and Seven (Seagram's 7 and Diet 7-Up)
Rum and diet cola
Rye and Ginger (rye whiskey and diet ginger ale)

While carbonated mixers are easier to find in carb-free versions, other additions to cocktails present more of a problem. Here is how to modify drinks to reduce the sugar.

Fruit Juice in Cocktails

Lemon and lime juices usually don't contribute too much sugar simply because there isn't much in any one drink. Interestingly, orange juice doesn't have much more sugar per ounce than lemon or lime juice (3 grams vs. 2 grams), but often far more is used in a drink. A Screwdriver (vodka and orange juice) could easily have 24 grams or more, depending on the size.

Other favorite juices for cocktails are pineapple juice (4 grams of carb per ounce), cranberry juice cocktail (4 grams per ounce for regular, 1 gram for light, and 0.2 grams for diet) and occasionally apple juice (3.5 grams per ounce) and tomato juice (1 gram per ounce).

Replace Simple Syrup With Artificial Sweetener

Simple syrup is a solution of sugar in water used to sweeten cocktails. One ounce has 4 tablespoons of sugar, about 50 grams of carbohydrate and almost 200 calories. Substituting artificial sweetener, particularly in liquid form, is the only good way to get around this.

Simple syrup is often combined with lemon juice or lime juice to make a sweet and sour mixer. You can make your own sugar-free sweet and sour mixer.

Cutting Carbs from Liqueurs

Liqueurs are sweet alcoholic beverages that always contain sugar. Examples are Benedictine, Crème de Cacao, Crème de Menthe, and Cointreau.

Replace the flavor of liqueur by using other flavorings. For example, a drop or two of orange extract can substitute for an orange liqueur such as Grand Marnier or Cointreau. Peppermint extract can take the place of peppermint schnapps. Then use a sugar substitute to replace the sweetness and enough water to make up for the liquid needed.

Replace liqueur with an equal volume of sugar-free syrup, such as those in the Da Vinci or Torino brands. These syrups come in an array of flavors, even including some liqueurs such as Amaretto, Kahlua, Creme de Menthe, and Irish Cream.

Use flavored spirits such as citrus-flavored vodka as the base of your drink rather than adding liqueur for that flavor. Be aware that the spirits may have a higher alcohol content than the liqueur they are replacing.

Carbs in Other Cocktail Ingredients

Small amounts of bitters are often used in cocktails. A tablespoon of bitters usually contains 5 to 7 grams of carb.

Vermouth is a flavored fortified wine used in the classic martini and other cocktails. Dry vermouth contains about 1 grams of carb per ounce, whereas the sweet type contains about 4 grams per ounce.

Lower-Sugar Cocktail Recipes

These recipes lower the sugar, often replacing it with honey. You'll have to swap that out for artificial sweetener to make them sugar-free.

Mojito Recipe with Honey: There are a few tricks to making mojitos that are sugar-free, low-carb, and low in calories.
Natural Strawberry Daiquiri with Honey Recipe: You'll greatly reduce the sugar with this recipe that relies mostly on the sweetness of your strawberries. It can also be made without the rum for a summer drink for adults or kids.
Pina Colada Recipe: A typical Pina Colada is loaded with sugar, and it's hard to make it truly low-carb as so much is in the essential ingredients. This recipe lowers the sugar load by using fresh pineapple juice and less coconut cream.

Sugar-Free and Low-Carb Classic Cocktail Recipes

These cocktail recipes are formulated to be sugar-free.

Sugar-Free Margarita Recipe: The traditional Margarita is hard to pass up when you're enjoying Mexican food, but most of them are very high in sugar. This one has just 2 grams of carb/sugar per drink.
Low-Carb Cosmopolitan Recipe: This festive cocktail normally includes lots of sugar from cranberry juice and liqueur. Use this recipe to reduce the carbs.
Bloody Mary Recipe: Get a serving of vegetables in your flavorful brunch cocktail. This recipe is appropriate for phase two of the South Beach Diet, with notes on how to adjust carbs for other low-carb plans.
Sugar-Free White Russian Recipe: Did you know that a White Russian cocktail can contain almost as much sugar as an 8-ounce glass of a cola drink? Here's a way to make it sugar-free.
Sugar-Free Whiskey Sour Recipe: Replacing the usual mixers with will reduce the calories and the carbs.
Low-Carb Collins Recipe: Pre-made Collins mixers have a fair amount of sugar. This recipe can be used for a lower-calorie and lower-carb Tom Collins or Vodka Collins.

Liqueurs have the greatest amount of carbohydrate among all alcoholic beverages. If you are going to sip them by themselves, you'll need to have a smaller pour. For cocktail recipes, use a smaller amount or substitutes.

These carb counts are based on the measure of one regular-sized jigger, which is typically 1 1/2 ounces. Each brand may differ slightly in the amount of carbohydrate it has. Check the labels if you have a choice of different brands.

Amaretto: 25 grams
Bailey’s Irish Cream: 11 grams
B & B Benedictine: 8 grams
Campari: 12 grams
Coffee Liqueur (e.g. Kahlua): up to 24 grams
Cointreau: 15 grams
Creme de Cacao: 22 grams
Creme de Cassis: 17 grams
Creme de Menthe: 21 grams
Grand Marnier: 10 grams
Kirsch: 9 grams
Ouzo: 16 grams
Sambuca: 17 grams
Triple Sec: 16 grams

These carb counts are what you might expect in the average 12-ounce serving of beer. However, it can vary from one brand to another. Be sure to read the label before choosing a beer. Many beers—especially light beer—will also provide carbohydrate information on their website. In general, the darker or heavier the beer, the more carbs it will have.

Light Beer: Check the label they vary from 2.4 to 7 grams of carb in 12 ounces. Here are the stats of popular brands:

Bud Light: 6.6 grams
Coors Light: 5.0 grams
Michelob Ultra: 2.6 grams
Miller Light: 3.2 grams
Miller 64: 2.4 grams

Regular Beer: The average is about 12 grams of carb.

Ale: The majority have around 5 to 9 grams.

Stout (for example, Guinness): These can vary greatly, but plan on about 20 grams.

Craft Beers: These can rival stout for having a significant amount of carbohydrates. Check the label or the brewer's website.

You can use the generally accepted carb counts for each wine varietal to get an idea of what they contain. As a general rule, we can say that the sweeter the wine, the higher the carb count.

These are the counts for one 5-ounce serving:

Dry Champagne: about 2.5 to 4.5 grams
Dry White (e.g. Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay): 3 grams
"Off Dry" (e.g. Reisling, Chenin Blanc): 5 to 6 grams
Muscat: 8 grams
Dry Red (e.g. Syrah, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sav.): 3.5 to 4 grams
Zinfindel: 4.2 grams
Dessert Wines: 12 to 14 grams
Sweet Late Harvest Wine: 20 grams

A Word From Verywell

By using these tips, you can enjoy an occasional cocktail, beer, or wine as part of a low-carb lifestyle. If you are cutting carbs to manage diabetes, discuss the ways in which alcoholic beverages can affect your health with your doctor. Of course, removing the carbs doesn't remove the effects of alcohol. Drink responsibly and never drive after drinking alcohol.

The Best Cocktails To Drink On A Low-Carb Diet

Booze without the carbs? We'll cheers to that.

There's nothing fun about cutting carbs (dear bread: I love you.), but these cocktails help curb the loss. If you're eating Keto or living that low-carb life, check out these 13 cocktails, and shake one up for your next happy hour.

A Sugar-Free Margarita.

What's a plate of Keto tacos without a Keto margarita to match? This one uses lime juice, orange extract, and sugar substitute to give it that classic 'rita flavor.

A Vodka LaCroix.

If you don't already know, now you do: LaCroix cocktails are the thing of spring. Pick your pleasure, add a splash of vodka, and stir. Need ideas?

Try this strawberry spritzer from Sunny Sweet Days.

A Low-Carb Moscow Mule.

Homemade low-carb ginger syrup, lime juice, mint leaves, diet ginger ale, and vodka make this a supreme low-carb alternative for Sunday Funday.

A Low-Carb Dark 'n Stormy.

Dark rum, sugar-free ginger beer, and lime make this a perfect cocktail for a dreary spring day. Blend it with ice for a frozen treat!

A Keto-Jito.

Aside from having the cutest cocktail name around, this Splendito is delicious, low on carbs, and super simple to make.

A Vodka Mojito.

Lime, mint, soda, and vodka make this a perfect drink for patio weather. This recipe swaps rum for vodka, making it even lighter on the calories.

Get the recipe from Ketogasm.

A Corpse Reviver #2.

This cocktail is said to help nurse a hangover from the night before, thanks to the perky lemon juice. Swap your mimosa for a Corpse Reviver the next time you need some low-carb hair of the dog.

This powerful elixir used to be banned in the U.S., but it's made a comeback in recent months, and is particularly great in a low-carb cocktail. Mix it with soda, or sip a little on its own.

A Low-Carb Sangria.

Red wine, club soda, citron vodka, berry water enhancer, and limes make this the perfect stand-in for sangria during the spring and summer months. Make a batch for your next patio session and soak up the low-carb bliss.

A Strawberry Lemonade Mojito.

Sugar-free pink lemonade gives this cocktail flavor without the cals, and Keto-friendly Bacardi gives it a no-carb kick. Add a few strawberries for a pop of color.

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Keto Cocktails and Mocktails

Keto cocktails exist. And they are two-step simple: Measure carefully and concentrate on the lowest carb mixers.

Mix up the unexpected – something unique (and maybe a little weird.)

Keto cocktail, mocktail and poptail recipes
Six essentials quickly stock your low carb bar
Infused spirits, low carb mixers and The Boston Shaker Method

Enjoy your favorite drink without guilt, or be adventurous and try a new low carb cocktail.

The Best Picks low carb cocktails have very unexpected ingredients: artichoke, avocado, ginger, mint, sage… One is bigger than Texas. Another vodka martini is blue.

Classic Low Carb Drinks

1. Low Carb White Russian: Learn how to make a creamy, guilt-free White Russian.

2. Vodka Collins: Enjoy this traditional favorite without all the carbs.

3. Low Carb Cosmo: The Cosmo gets a makeover! This recipe cuts the carbs.

4. Bloody Mary: An excellent, low carb recipe for the spicy classic.

5. Low Carb Sangria: This Sangria recipe uses traditional ingredients. Add seasonal mulling spices during the holidays or winter months.

Avocado Margarita

Healthy high fat avocados get frisky. From Low Carb High Party, a visual step-by-step low carb avocado Margarita.

The Bobby Burns

The Bobby Burns low carb scotch cocktail uses Benedictine to add unique herbal flavor. It transforms your Scotch into something special.

Whispering Wreath

Hot buttered rum gets a low carb makeover with fresh mint and sage.

Cynar Sour

The low carb Cynar Sour cocktail uses an Italian artichoke liqueur with a burnt-sugar, earthy, bittersweet flavor. Interesting…

Ginger Infused Vodka

A Happy Dragon cocktail made with homemade ginger-infused vodka. Also featured: kumquat garnished Gingertinis and ginger vodka tonics.

Herb Infused Vodka?

Capture the flavor of the season by making infused herbal liquors. Ashley English gives a simple how-to on her blog, complete with photos.

Infusion Herbs to Try:

Cilantro: Pair with ginger, chile peppers, figs, cucumbers, cumin seed

Basil: Pair with strawberries, cucumbers, orange peel, peaches, pineapple

Lemon Verbena: Pair with blueberries, cherries, cinnamon, currants

Tarragon: Pair with lemon thyme, celery, lemon, pink grapefruit

Dill: Pair with cucumber, coriander, cilantro, capers, lemon

Mint: Pair with apples, cardamom, whole cloves, grapes, peaches

Rosemary: Pair with lemon, orange slices, apricots, plums

Thyme: Pair with allspice, bay leaf, celery, cranberries, sage

Lavender: Pair with raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, lemon

Dirty Martini

Stuffed green olives and splashed vermouth twist up this timeless vodka classic. Add a splash of Blue Curacao (5 net carbs per ounce – be cautious) for a colorful Blue Martini.

Big Texan Bourbon and Grapefruit

This bold bourbon cocktail has flavor as big as Texas. Easily modify this recipe by using sugar free syrup or Splenda.

Cilantro Cooler

A great low carb vodka-lime aperitif: cilantro-spiked with eucalyptus-infused syrup. *Substitute sugar-free syrup during the recipe.

Low Carb Old Fashioned

A timeless taste for smokey conversation. The low carb Old Fashioned transports bourbon into a cool sweet sip.

Low Carb Mocktails

Not every low carber indulges in alcohol. There are a few ways to make a low carb “mocktail” – a fake cocktail without the alcohol, but just as festive and delicious.

Alcohol-Free Drinks

Whip fresh or frozen berries in a blender with ice and a dash of lime.

Mix two ounces of fresh-squeezed orange or grapefruit juice (6.4 carbs per 2 ounces) with sparkling water, diet tonic or seltzer to make a low carb spritzer.

Try a splash of stevia-sweetened lime and/or lemon juice with spring water served over crushed ice.

Cucumber Mojito Mocktail

This low carb Mojito mocktail features refreshing cucumber and Crystal Light sugar-free flavor.

Low Carb Poptails?

Don’t “drink” your drink. Have some fun! These low carb cocktails are cleverly disguised as popsicles! Adults only, please. Obviously these are NOT meant for minor children.

52 Kitchen Adventures recommends the 25 Best Boozy Popsicles if you’re looking for ideas. Most of the recipes can be modified to lower the carbs.

Black or White Russian Poptails

CavemanKeto has a creamy low carb White Russian recipe perfect for making poptails. Add unsweetened cocoa powder to make a Black Russian pop.

Smashed Raspberry Lemon Poptails

Crush low carb raspberries and zesty lemons (add heavy cream or full-fat yogurt too!) for these high-fiber, fruity low carb popsicles.

Build a Low Carb Bar

Six basics plus a few mixers turn out a surprising number of classic low carb cocktails. You’ll also have enough variety to invent your own signature low carb drinks.

The Essential Six

These spirits have trace amounts of carbs and make a wide variety of low carb drinks.

Vodka: The versatile star of your liquor cabinet. Use vodka in basic drinks: vodka tonics, screwdrivers and martinis.

White Rum: A classic ingredient in daiquiris and Mojitos.

Gin: Enjoy with tonic or in a martini.

Tequila: The best are made from 100 percent agave, so be sure to check the label.

Bourbon: Drink “on the rocks,” in a Manhattan, an old fashioned or whiskey sour.

Cognac or Whiskey: Enjoy whiskey and cognac straight up, or with sugar-free mixers.

Low Carb Drink Mixers

The easiest way to make your favorite (formerly) sweet cocktails low carb is to replace the sugary ingredients with artificially sweetened ones, like Splenda or simple sugar-free or flavored syrups.

There are a few substitutes (like tweaking your recipe), but to get an extremely close “faux” version, there’s really no way around it.

Using unsweetened lemonade, Crystal Light flavors or no-added-sugar cranberry juice gives you the ability to add just the right amount of flavor.

Fresh low carb fruits (There are 43 kinds!) like berries, lemon and lime are old standards and mix well with sugar-free (diet) tonic water or club soda.

Try these low carb cocktail mixers:

Clean, natural orange flavor and not too sweet.
One ounce has 7 carbs, so be careful or reduce the amount in the recipe.

½ ounce of Vermouth has less than 2 carbs.
White Vermouth: for martinis.
Red Vermouth: for Manhattans.

Bitters doesn’t taste bitter, but it helps blend the drink. Bitters comes in dozens of flavors. You only need a dash. Typically, there is 1 carb in 1/4 teaspoon of bitters.

Mixing 101: The Boston Shaker Method

Professionals prefer a two-piece Boston shaker to mix cocktails: a thin, tapered, glass-and-metal combination shaker.

The metal shaker is versatile and fast, keeping the drink cold longer. It forms a perfect seal around almost any size glass.

One: Measure ingredients and pour into the glass. And crushed or cracked ice. Cover the glass with the shaker and gently tap to seal.

Two: Pick up the assembly and flip it over, holding the glasses together. Shake it up and down in a slight oval, counting to 15.

Almost Zero Carb Meal Plan

The Almost Zero meal plan is three easy days, one aggressive technique and major fat loss.

The plan is designed to break even the worst stall, and burn off large amounts of stored fat – in 3 days.

The Technique
150 Recipes (100 under 1 net carb)
Sample Menus, Shopping List
Printable Planner

Alcohol On A Low Carb, Keto Diet!

For years, I’ve read countless dieting books that prohibited me from drinking alcohol. Actually, it’s probably the first thing that many “diet gurus” say to cut out of your diet and for (somewhat) good reason. Alcohol gets a bad reputation because it’s basically empty calories.

In an ideal world, sure. I’ll give up alcohol to lose weight. But let’s get serious. I’m 23 years old and I very much enjoy a tasty alcoholic beverage (or 5) and a wild night out on the town with my friends.

The beauty of a ketogenic, low carb diet is that you can still enjoy yourself from time-to-time with alcohol and still lose weight! However, there are some guidelines as to what alcohols you can enjoy and those you should avoid.

On average, one shot is the equivalent to about 1.5oz and for these spirits have a nutritional value of 0 carbs and roughly 64 calories. Of course, this will vary depending on how much is actually in your beverage (order a double? Double the nutritional stats).

Approved spirits on a keto, low carb diet include:

Vodka (Three Olives, Absolut, Grey Goose, etc.)
Rum (Captain Morgan, etc)
Gin (Tanqueray, Beefeater, etc)
Tequila
Whiskey (Jack Daniel’s, etc.)
Scotch
Brandy
Cognac (Hennessy, etc.)

Please note that these are for the original, unflavored versions. For flavored spirits (including flavored vodkas and some dark/coconut rums), always check up on nutritional information before consuming as they often contain carbohydrates.

My spirit of choice is generally a nice gin (with soda water& lime) or cognac (with diet cola). I’ve been known to drink a fair share of Hennessy.

Chasers & Mixers

For mixing or chasing, you have many no sugar, no calorie options

Diet sodas (Coke Zero, Diet Coke, Diet Ginger Ale)
Soda water
Diet tonic water
Seltzer water
Sugar-free energy drinks (Red Bull, Monster, etc.)
Sparkling water (Perrier)
Crystal Light

I tend to use sugar-free Red Bull or Coke Zero. I find that Crystal Light gives me headaches, but some people can drink it just fine!

I’m going to be up front. It’s really hard to drink really great beers on a keto, low carb diet. No more craft beers or IPAs. You’re doomed to mostly light beers which generally just leave me longing for something more. Basically, you want to avoid anything red, amber or dark.

Some low carb beer picks include (per 12 oz/bottle):

Bud Select 55: 55 calories, 1.9 carbs
MGD 64: 64 calories, 2.4 carbs
Rolling Rock Green Light: 92 calories, 2.4 carbs
Michelob Ultra: 95 calories, 2.6 carbs
Bud Select: 99 calories, 3.1 carbs
Miller Lite: 96 calories, 3.2 carbs
Natural Light: 95 calories, 3.2 carbs
Michelob Ultra Amber: 114 calories, 3.7 carbs
Coors Light: 102 calories, 5 carbs
Amstel Light: 95 calories, 5 carbs
Bud Light: 110 calories, 6.6 carbs

While beer doesn’t tend to mess with my digestive system (must be that fermentation!), I generally avoid beer unless I really want it. It is, after all, made from wheat and I try my best to avoid gluten altogether.

I was extremely excited to find out that wine can fit into a low carb, keto diet! I had always figured that since it was made from grapes it would be crawling in sugar, but luckily this isn’t the case! These numbers are based on 5 oz servings.

Red wines to enjoy:

Merlot: 120 calories, 3.7 carbs
Pinot Noir: 121 calories, 3.4 carbs
Cabernet: 120 calories, 3.8 carbs

White wines to enjoy:

Chardonnay: 118 calories, 3.7 carbs
Pinot Gris/Grigio: 122 calories, 3.2 carbs
Riesling: 118 calories, 5.5 carbs
Champagne/Sparking whites: 96 calories, 1.5 carbs

Tips, tricks and what to avoid

No matter how much I love it, avoid Jagermeister. For one shot, it’s roughly 10 carbs.
Be wary of food choices while under the influence. You can still get the fatty cheeseburger, but avoid the bun and French fries.
Avoid fruit juice, shots with fruity tastes (peach schnapps, blue curacao, etc.) as they’re just generally concentrated sources of sugar and carbohydrates.
Be aware that when consuming alcohol, it is burned first before fat in the body. For some people, this causes a stall. In others, it jumpstarts weight loss. Test it for yourself and see how your body handles it!
#1 Rule – After a few weeks of a low carb diet, you will notice your alcohol tolerance is dramatically lower. I get super buzzed off of two glasses of wine now and if there is any more, I’m acting up!

Reader Interactions

Awesome info, thank you.

Thank you! I would be skinny if I did not enjoy alcohol so much!

Carb count for white Zinfandel

I just found this blog, and there is so much helpful information. I am a mom of two just starting a low carb diet to lose the extra 10-15 lbs I gained several years ago when my boys were young. I have found that I lose more weight the eating full fat butter, cheese and avocado than trying to eat typical diet foods.Also, I just wanted to commend everyone who posted for being so supportive. I usually cringe when I scroll down to read comments because they get so rude and snarky. This is a positive forum. Keep up the good work sending a ray of knowledge and light into an often dark and negative online environment. Love, peace and goodwill to all.

I’m curious about how you can justify diet drinks when the literature out there out there is warning people of the dangers of diet drinks and how they affect your body. I stick to drinks that I can sweeten with stevia or other organic, natural sweetener. You seem to be a walking ad for Coca Cola products! Shouldn’t you be talking about alternatives to soda pop as a mixer?

Walking ad? That’s a bit of a stretch. I’m willing to meet people where they are with their journey. For many, that includes diet soda. Just remember that not everyone is the exact same as you.

Coke Zero is just fine as the article says.

Would you recommend wine over alcohol? Since the body prioritizes breaking down the alcohol over fat would it break down the carbs over fat and this be beneficial in remaining in ketosis of wine consumption is kept under 20g that day??

I’d probably recommend clear spirits over wine, but choose what you like best and stay under 20grams!

Thank you for sharing this with us. I see that vodka has no carbs but do you have any info about what happens inside the body? I drink regularly and while I have been cutting down, wonder how vodka would do to ketosis. From what I read, alcohol turns partially into sugar in the body. Is there an equivilent to “net carbs” for alcohol that does not contain sugar?

Your response is appreciated. I listed my email but if a response is not automatically generated I would appreciate that as well.

Thank you for your help.

It’s my understanding that your liver will prioritize burning the alcohol instead of fat so you might stall.

I was a heavy drinker for years before keto, so this is of interest to me. My experience with alcohol while in ketosis has been mixed. I would echo what others have said, basically your body can respond unpredictably to alcohol. My first experience was wasted and terrible hangover on a 12 pack, that is an amount which would normally only produce a buzz for me. The hangover may have been more dehydration than anything, I would definitely recommend the old alternate water and drink approach and try to remember to drink as much water as you can stand before sleeping/passing out. Also, on that occasion I was drinking very high carb craft beer. And it knocked me out of ketosis for days.

Some people claim alcohol alone can knock them out of ketosis, I tend to think I am one of these people. So my heavy drinking days are over, and I would suggest to anyone serious about keto diet to avoid regular alcohol use. But as the author stated, it can be a nearly unavoidable part of your lifestyle and if it’s something you want to include in your life I think this article offers some great ideas on how to do so with least damage.

Keep in mind that ALL alcohol is created by fermentation, which is allowing yeast to feed on CARBS (sugars and grain) and the yeast converts it into alcohol and CO2. With spirits we further distill that to remove more “other stuff” and leave the alcohol. The fact that alcohol begins as sugar kind of leads one to believe that while it technically isn’t carbs, it may cause trouble for some on keto diet. But if you can handle it and stay in ketosis or want to use it occasionally (I do) even though it may bump you out of ketosis, just know the risks and see how your body responds.

Having been on a no carb diet for two weeks, and heeding the warning of “no alcohol,” I checked the carbs in a Glenlevit 15 year scotch. Ans: zero carbs. Bought a bottle. Dinner: cheeseburger, cuccumber, and scotch on the rocks in a Waterford glass……

Satisfying, and slept well that night. If you are going to drink, drink well…..

Thank you Dominic! Great info.

I have been doing a lchf diet for 5 weeks now and I am down 20+ pounds!

Tonight I will be meeting up with a old buddy at a local watering hole and I was worried about breaking my keto state.

But now I feel more confident about what I can and can’t have to keep my chemistry happy.

Also, thank you about the heads-up concerning low carb and reduced alcohol tolerance. Something very important to note!

I mix a white rum with the Coconut/Pineapple Sparkling Ice Water. The Sparkling Ice Water has zero calories and zero carbs. I know its in small amounts, but it has a little vitamins in it too.

Dominic thank you for all this information, I’ve been losing pounds and inches like crazy in just 3 weeks. 16+ lbs.

Awesome, great job!

This is awesome! Thank you for posting this guideline!! Happy Birthday weekend to me

What do you think about the Atkins diet? Do you have a HFLC guide? Or recommend one?

I think the Atkin’s Diet is a good diet to follow. I don’t have a template yet, but there’s a good one here:

I’m new to the lchf diet. I do enjoy a glass of wine at evening time. However, I think it has to be counted in the total calories allowed per day. I’m on a 1200 cal per day lchf diet which, when I was younger I would loose 2-3 lbs per day. Now I mighy loose .5 lb per week. Frustrating!! I did cut out the wine for two weeks and it did not make a difference in my weight loss. Any advice?

What’s your dairy consumption like? Too much can stall some people.

my question is: when i do indulge, how should I eat? should I make sure and eat HF to balance blood sugar? or not eat?

Eat fat at every meal. Eat until you’re not hungry anymore. If you find you aren’t looking, you might have to count calories but for most people this isn’t the case.

Hi I’ve been following a low carb diet for just under six months now a bit like the Atkins diet I have lost 50 pounds which I am very thankful for but I find in the last month I’ve really not lost much of anythingI do like to have white wine on a regular basis on wondering if I switched to vodka and water with a bit of flavorings would that make a difference Thanks

Alcohol in general could stall, so if you would considering taking it out it may help. Dairy is another big one (especially cheese).

Got two that I love and still use… both based on 0 carb RUM with no flavoring (got to watch those flavored RUMs)

Call this the [U]Slice Shot [/U](Arnold Palmer with Rum… get it?)

-Peach Ice Tea (Walmart variety packets)

-Lemon aid (again, just the Walmart variety sweetener packets)

I call this the [U]California Cream[/U] (Not Irish cream, BUT CLOSE)

-Silk Almond Milk (unsweetened, low/no crabs)

-Liquid Stevie drink sweetener to taste.

Wachusett blueberry beer also is low in carbs

Well my cravings for sweets ever lessen? I’m new to keto and I have a serious sweet tooth.

They should over time. If you are consuming artificial sweeteners, I would cut down them on them drastically as they can still have a sugar-craving effect.

Dominic, I only use Stevia for any sweetening that I desire. Will that create more sugar cravings? Label says 0 carbs.

Everyone is different so it depends. If you find yourself craving sweets, it would be the first thing I try to eliminate and see if that works. If you continue to lose and can manage cravings with it, keep it up!

I’ve a really sweet tooth and I’ve seen some Atkins chocolate bars?

They talk about not counting total carbs, just the net carbs,

16.4g total carb- 14.9g polyols = 1.5g net carb? Can you shed any light on this for me?

That’s correct. Fiber is not digestible and does not have to be counted in carb counts. If you continue to lose and have them, by all means, enjoy them! I find that they cause me to have sugar cravings and some less-than-favorable bathroom issues. Whoops.

just fyi for anyone reading here, Amstel Light is gluten-free.

Love this article, Dominic- well written and thorough. =) Thank you! I decided to try keto when my weight started steadily climbing upward. I became heavier than I was at the end of my third pregnancy. I had ZERO energy, as well. It was horrible! I really stuck to the suggestions for staying in ketosis. No carbs the first week, and always less than about 20g carbs per day after that. Never need to count calories. =) I lost 60 lbs in about 9 weeks! At first I was scared to eat so much fat, but after the first week of feeling a bit funky, I feel awesome! Sooo much more energy! I love craft beers, but made the drastic switch to vodka and zero carb flavored sparkling water. I make sure to take highly bio-available magnesium and potassium if I feel fatigued (maybe 1-2 times a week). I keep up with leafy greens (mostly turnip greens, spinach and kale-which I use uncooked in place of bread). I munch on fatty, precooked meat like untrimmed pork chops or steak when I feel ravenously hungry, or maybe a couple hard boiled eggs. I add full fat mayo or sour cream to whatever I can. But I think the key for me has been to start every day with a cup of coffee- no food, this IS my breakfast- with about 2 tsp to 2 tbsp organic unrefined coconut oil in it, with some vanilla or perhaps heavy cream. Always try to add as much healthy fats to a meal as possible, especially if my weight loss stalls or I gain a little. Avocados are great for this too. Can’t believe the results! Sticking with keto for good, and I feel loads better than I did while eating tons of carbs and gluten! Love supportive sites such as yours!

(Actually meant to post this comment under the general thread comments, sorry!! …But to Linzee- glad to know there is still a beer I can enjoy, guilt-free!)

Great job, Aces! Keep it up!

I liked your comment so much I’m using it to explain to people about my diet.

I can drink vodka & rum straight but it has to be UV flavored vodka and Malibu rum. Where can I find the carb counts on these they are not listed on the bottles

Your best bet us to contact the company, they aren’t usually that great about listing their ingredients. I noticed that most flavored vodkas are around 2-3 carbs a shot. I am guessing the Malibu rum is probably more carby since it’s fairly sweet.

Congrats on your weight loss! Can you tell me how many carbs you are getting each day with this amount of weight loss? And are you on any exersize program! I’m really excited to hear that I may not have to give up my patrone or vodka!!

I no longer track specifics, but I am always under 50 grams. Some people need to do under 20 to keep losing and keep their blood sugar stable.

Thank you thank you thank you! I’m a chardonnay addict and just started a Keto diet this week. I didn’t think I could have any alcohol at all anymore! I’ve lost 5 pounds already, and didn’t want to ruin it.

I had no idea Chardonnay has only a little over 3 carbs per glass! What a happy surprise. Thanks for this article!

i found a website – vineyard that offers sugarless wine!! it’s organic and no sugar added, and say’s 1/2 the calories.

what do you think about this? Is it too good to be true?

i’m on ideal protein- low carb and no sugar. Will this de-rail me?

Most wines are no sugar added, they get the natural sugar from the grapes. I would probably just drink regular wine as the “sugarless” wine is probably a much more expensive choice.

I have done low-carb before and 0 carb alcohol never stalled me, and I drink several times a week. However, a couple months ago I started low carbing again as I put on a lot of weight in a very short time, oddly without any significant change in eating habits. Well, after an entire month of less than 20 net carbs a day I GAINED 5 pounds! I went to the dr, got some lab work done, and low and behold HYPOTHYROIDISM. Been on medication for that for a couple months now and am less than a week back in to the diet. Hoping to see some results, but not major. Thyroid is back in normal limits but on the edge. I guess my point here is that stalling could also be medical. As I said I’ve done low carb before and lost 50 pounds easily, all while drinking vodka or rum mixed with a sugar free, 0 carb beverage on a more than regular basis.

Glad you’re back on track and thanks so much for the helpful information.

HI Charlene – I have been diagnosed with HYPOTHYROIDISM aswell so take time to get your dosage right and T levels adjusted before. without this your rowing a boat without a paddle so to speak.

I am now on 100mg of levo (doubled last year and feel great with a plus of weight loss during low carb.

the only way to know it works is to experiment.

Thank you, thank you for this info! I’m only on day 10 and have been losing weight quickly. I was a little nervous about my family coming to visit this weekend. I will be very careful to drink only what’s on the list, and only a couple!

Wow, just stumbled on this website. Good information. i just went low carb about 3 weeks ago and have noticed that I cannot tolerate beer anymore! I used to drink beer regularly and have no problem with it. I went out with friends the last two nights and drank 2 pints each night. Not only did I experience hangover symptoms, I also gained about 3 pounds! YIKES! May give wine a try and see if I have better luck with it. If not, it’s vodka/water/lime for me! I feel terrible today!

How about hard cider?

Unfortunately cider does have quite a bit of carbs!

My husband & I enjoy vodka–unflavored, with lemon and soda. But we flavor it ourselves with a teabag or two. My favorite is Red Zinger (an herbal tea by Celestial Seasonings) though we’ve also used blueberry or lemon teas. In un-chilled vodka a tea bag will steep in about 5-10 minutes.

I got the idea from Aquavits made in a Swedish restaurant, where they steep herbs, fruits, veggies, etc. in vodkas for 3 months & up. (Horseradish is great for Bloody Marys–also can be made on the low carb spectrum!)

Great idea, love that!

That is such a great idea! There are so many great herbal teas available, it would fun to experiment….

Hi I’ve been doing low carb for 3 weeks now and the first 2 weeks I lost about 10lbs. But now almost done with the 3rd week and I haven’t lost anything. I did start adding more vegetables to my meal plans and working out like crazy every day. Can you suggest anything to get out of this plateau?? Two more weeks till my bday and I gotta shed more lbs…lol

I wouldn’t call it a plateau yet. Just keep doing what your doing, reduce your stress levels, and keep eating fat!

That time of the month can really affect your weight loss, but you will find when its finished that more comes off!

Love your work, l stumbled across it & so glad l did thx. Can you tell me about Pernod pls, l know Ouzo is high in carbs but can’t find anything on it. Can you recommend something similar, l drink it with zero coke.

Pernod has two carbs per serving and Ouzo has 11, so avoid that one for sure!

Been trying brandy & diet dry: not bad but l end up with intergestion lol

My fav is Tito’s vodka, club soda and organic lime juice. I try to buy organic whenever possible (so no aspartame, sucralose, etc…) Delicious and refreshing! Zero carbs!

I am going on vacation tomorrow for 1 week and I definitely want to have drinks.

I am going to have crystal light or mio with 0 carbs in it and mix it with vodka or rasberry vodka.

Apparently smirnoff rasberry vodka has 0 carbs.

I really hope I don’t gain weight from drinking but I will see after my vacation.

Good luck and have a great time on vacation!

Great list of alcohols! I have been having the same issue, I love to party on weekends and it’s hard to say no when everyone around is having drinks. Glad to hear that wine is still available, as well as the hard stuff! It still adds calories, which I have to remember. My go to chaser is La Croix with fresh lemon squeezed – it goes great with rum or vodka!

Consuming alcohol all depends on how far into Keto you are. If you are on VLCKD and well adapted you can get tanked on beer and wake up in keto no problem.

OK……..new to this CARB thang. I’m in week 4 and have only lost 11# (I assume 3-5 is water). Probably had 10 oz of alcohol the entire month and less than 50 carbs per day (average 32). Still can’t force HIGH FAT stuff down my throat (butter, P’Nut Butter, Cheese, Cream, Mayo) but I’m doing better with lots of FISH and chicken, tofu. Cut out all my wonderful fruit and higher carb veggies like limas, brussels, beets, carrotts. Am I in this “stall” ya’ll keep going on about? or is 1.5# a week the best I can expect?

1.5 is a great number to be losing at. If you experience a week where you haven’t lost anything, I suggest trying a fat fast.

I just started the Premier Body Work weight loss program! So far, so good! I dropped 5 lbs the first week. Then had two cavities fixed and ate 1 pint of BLUE BELL HOMEMADE VANILLA ICECREAM! Damn, made me mad at myself.plus’s I devoured an intire can of whip cream (no carbs), Gained 4 lbs back. I am drinking vodka every evening! Chills out my stress level! OK shud I do 0 carbs for the next week. I go back to Doc in 1 week to get weight loss injections and refill on phentermin. They will do a carb check on me as well! I don’t want to screw this up. My last resort. And I need someone to help me be accountable! I atleast need to drop all the 5 that I gained! Don’t want to fail myself again!

Be careful with the whipped cream. Though it says 0 per serving, a whole can is likely a pretty decent carb count. They are able to put 0g as long as one serving is less than half a carb.

I would just focus on getting into ketosis right now. Eat meat, eggs, fat, high fat/low carb dairy and low carb veggies for now. No reason to go zero carbs unless that is your choice.

For accountability, I highly suggest using some of the Keto/LCHF Facebook groups!

oh man, what a frustration……that beeeeeeeeeeeer. 🙁

I guess I will stick with white wine and whisky…..but……that beeeeeeeeeeeeeeer 🙁

Thanks! Really useful tips!

Dominic, I am soo thankful for this information! You are a lifesaver! Thank you, thank you, thank you! :o)

Brilliant. I am on Atkins induction day 6 but going away in a couple of weeks with friends where I will be moving onto ongoing weight loss. Its nice to know I could have a cheeky couple with my mates without going too far off the rails…. Going to stick with vodka and get me some diet ginger ale or have vodka and soda with fresh lemons, limes and a bit of mint 🙂 nice one geeza! (Sorry from UK, don’t know if you use the term geeza in the u.s but its all good!! Lol)

We get it in Oz !!

does scotch and jack have carbs at all in them?, a resource told me they dont .

Nope, these are carb free. Just be careful with flavored ones like Honey and whatnot. Those ones have carbs.

I had to give up my daily wine. while I got away with it for two years (guzzling wine and eating great low carb food) I did gain back about 20 pounds. I am not upset…I drank a lot and ate great food..and it was totally worth 20 pounds over two years. But back to the grindstone and limiting drinks to weekends.

Still preferable to regular diet which leaves you wanting!

I’ve read that sweetness in diet drinks can actually knock you out of ketosis? But you state above diet drinks with the same chemical sweeteners which many sources tell you to avoid?

This is something that you need to test personally. For some people, they will kick you out of ketosis and others it won’t. They personally don’t for me.

What the **** is an Oz?!

It stands for an ounce.

Oz in this case, when capitalized, means New Zealand! oz is ounce! Lol!

I’m wondering where you got the stats on MGD beer. Miller-Coors has, per bottle of MGD:

My bad you listed MGD 64.

Vodka, tequila or rum mixed with club soda and a splash of ginger ale really does it for me. Tequila being the tastiest.

Im so glad I stumbled upon this blog! While on this ketogenic diet, I’ve definitely struggled with not drinking (23 yr old college student here!) and I love me some alcohol! Since I’ve been on this diet, I have always been told just to stay away from alcohol, and I’m now glad I don’t have to choose between being skinny and drinking alcohol! So excited to try some of the recipes on here as well!

Love this post. It’s way hot during the summer in Texas and I have fallen in love with Whiskey Lemonades! I use Crystal

Light lemonade and Jack Daniels. Super refreshing! Just be careful because they go down really easy on a sunny afternoon!

Are there certain brands that are recommended over others for carb content? Or are all red/white wines made the same with no added stuff

These are averages of certain brands. If you want to be 100% sure, you should definitely contact the company and find out. They should be able to provide nutritional information.

Great post, thanks for sharing it! I seem to be finding widely different opinions in the carb content of a Chardonnay or Reisling.

This page says 3 to 6 grams per 5 oz serving

But on the myfitness pal site (what I use to keep track) it says a whopping 9 grams for a 5oz serving of my fav white wine – Apothic white.

Can you shed any light on this?

In the world of wine there is a concept called Residual Sugar or RS It is the amount of the sugar from the grapes that is left unfermented. Some juice starts out with such a high amount of sugar that the yeast will die before it can ferment it all out. In the case of Apothic white, I suspect that they simply add sugar and stabilizers to keep it from fermenting so that they can get a sweet taste. If you really want to know the amount of carbs in your wine, you really have to look up your specific wine and search for tech sheet. Look for the RS amount usually listed as g/L. Divide this number by five for a 6 oz. glass. The easy way that worked very well for me was sticking to dry white wines and dry prosecco and cava.

Great post. Captain and diet is my drink of choice..or vodka and diet tonic. I really miss my craft beer though 🙁

so many great ideas! im a vodka and red wine drinker…every weekend. in my vodka i use any flavor sugar free mio, (the squirt, purchased at walmart/kroger) that way you can add how much flavor you prefer. i also mix it up with different flavors of crystal light and sugar free flavored waters for some fizz. diet ginger ale is a great splash in any drink. red wine, i add a good splash of sugar free raspberry water. it adds a little fizz to the wine and gives me more to drink! stay happy.

A really good helpful blog… thanks for taking the time. I was looking for other drink ideas while on Atkins again. You raised a very good point with being VERY careful with the alcohol intake on low carb. 3 quick drinks will hit hard and hurt. I was on extended 1st phase of Atkins and had 6 drinks in a relatively short period of time and really regretted it the next day…It was like being on an all night bender… messy…

I am doing ideal protein , I am going to try a drink or two from here and hope I don’t stall. Thank you!

Crown with diet Mtn. Dew is yummy! I used to do the real thing, but now my Whiskey Dew only uses the diet dew.

Relatively new to keto, and feeling great on it. Being able to drink occasionally is really welcome when you’re restricting so many other enjoyable foods and beverages.

The easiest way to tell if a flavored vodka has added sugar is by the %ABV. If it’s under 40 (which would be 80 proof) it probably has sugar added.

Some of my faves:

Vanilla vodka (be caseful which you pick, make sure there’s no added sugar), club soda and wedge of orange (rocks)

LaCroix sparkling water (grapefruit), gin, squeeze of lime, muddled basil leaf (rocks)

Square One Organic Cucumber vodka (2 parts), sake (not unfiltered, 1 part), muddle cucumber, shaken, strained into a martini glass.

Low carb “Kahlua”. Two oz white rum (unflavored), teaspoon or more of Starbucks VIA instant coffee, sweetener of your choice. Combine and stir until coffee dissolves. Adjust sweetness/coffee amount as needed. And even better, pour it over ice with some heavy cream for the best Keto White Russian ever.

I’m wondering how often is it ok to drink on a low carb diet. What if you have 2 shots of no carb liquor about 5 times a week. Would that small amount of alcohol stall weight loss if it’s late at night?

Each person is different so it really would be trial and error. Some people can’t even drink one night without stalling.

Sorry I couldn’t be more of more help!

I am a big fan of craft beer and red wine, and I hate sweet cocktails. So, sweet, sugar-free mixers are not a good solution for me.

I had a drink last weekend at a distillery, where I asked them to leave out the simple syrup and it was delicious. It was basically cucumber vodka, muddled mint & cucumber, lime juice and soda. So refreshing, delicious and non-sweet.

Last summer I had a non-sweet cocktail in Dallas at Gloria’s that was amazing. I think it had tequila, soda, cilantro, mint, lime and jalapenos. I wish I could find the recipe again. It was spicy, flavorful, and refreshing.

I’d love to see more creative drinks like these out there for sure.

Those sound delicious! I really like the idea of using strong flavors instead of sweeteners, it would really make things interesting without adding calories/fake chemicals to drinks!

Just started the low (almost none) carb diet. Today is my 8th day. Was wondering if I should wait more than just the 2 week intro before drinking. I make a sugarfree lemonade with a shot of tequila, ice & salted rim. I call them “country margaritas”. Just don’t want to screw this up.

Just make sure that you are prepared for the aftermath; stock up on high-fat, low-carb treats for after you drink so you don’t go off plan!

This is lifechanging. Seriously. I was dreading my first Saturday night on this diet but I do believe I will have a gin and soda w/lime. 🙂

Thanks! This is awesome. I am actually 44 and a runner, but realize carbs are no longer my friend. This is an excellent post. Particularly given that I attend a lot of fundraisers for our children’s school and for my nonprofit work. I had been concerned about the alcohol and you put my mind at ease. Thank you for a well written piece that reflects the whole being and our need for balance. Cheers!

I am 43, doing ideal protein, which says no alcohol. I have a very stressful job, I need a drink or two on the weekends. Thanks for the great ideas.

High fat is a cure-all for hangovers. Bullet Proof coffee is the shit!

I agree with Paul and others. Awesome blog post. Helpful, practical, and much appreciated. Thank you!

Use plain vodka – not the flavored for the jello shots

Try jello shots with sugar free jello, no carbs. I use regular jello when I am not on low carb diet

Yum, forgot about those. Great way to get some gelatin in as well!

Thanks for the suggestion, Kathi!

I am new to the keto diet. My husband & I had plans to go out with friends this week & almost canceled because we thought keto excluded alcohol… we’re a young couple (22 & 25) so nights out are just in our nature. I am beyond excited after reading this post & looking forward to a great night out 🙂 Love your blog, awesome posts!

Exactly! I am still just like any 24 year old – I love nights out! Just be warned about your alcohol tolerance being drastically lower!

So, are the lists above stating that if you combine those liquors with the sugar free drinks, then you will be consuming no carbs? It says the liquors have 0 carbs…

Sorry, the liquors listed with the chasers/mixers will then consist of no carbs?

I enjoyed your blog post. I wrote one very similar on our website ages ago for the exact same reasons you wrote yours (I presume) because people kept asking us (eatingAtkins) questions like “Can I drink while on induction” or “Is it okay to have alcohol” or “When can I drink alcohol and what can I drink”. So, I did my best to address those questions.

Well done on the tips at the end, very practical. P.S I’ve added a link back to your blog from our blog post on the same subject.

Vodka with the diet cranberry/ grape juice (0 carbs) is delish!

That sounds delicious! Will have to try it out.

But doesn’t the diet drinks, sugar free drinks stall weight loss also?

This is entirely up to the person. Diet sodas don’t stall me. However, they do cause me to crave sugar, so I avoid them unless I’m drinking.

Great article! I’m researching if there’s any benefit to eating particular foods while drinking ie, limiting fats or calorie dense foods, or even protein. I definitely stall when I drink 🙁 unfortunately. Any thoughts on Ketoers pairing foods with alcohol and the effects it has on weight loss?

I’m not sure what low carb foods will soak up alcohol the best, but my guess would be veggies. Let me know if you hear anything.

Veggies?! Lol! I can’t bring myself to have a Redbull/Vodka and some veggies. Sounds like a disaster in the making to me.

I’m curious if you could elaborate on the ‘stall’? What I mean to say is, the stall comes from metabolism differences in each individual, or do you believe it to be whether people actually adhere to their normal carb limit during this time?

If you eat your regular amount of carbs during the day, and drink at night, are people still doing the math? Forgetting to add the alcohol AND the munchies at 2 am?! Some people believe that the bodies of certain individuals will recognize anything sweet (stevia, Splenda etc) as a sugar and their glucose will soar after ingesting it.

Could my body just miss carbs so much that I have a drink and it thanks me by throwing me out of Ketosis?

I’d rather eat an actual carb or two for that!

What is the serving size for the wine listed?

These are based on 5 oz servings. I will update the page with the ounces, thanks for pointing that out.

diet coke and vanilla vodka’s been my go-to drink for a while

Sounds like a great combo!

further to your comment… Yes I noticed tolerance is lower after being on keto for 2 years – but also noticed that alcohol elimination from the blood stream is quicker and – hangovers near non existent !

I notice that after a certain amount of time the hangover does go away, but when you’re first starting..I had thee worst hangover and ending up vomiting. I NEVER vomit!

Worse hangovers at the start?! EEK! Better be careful this weekend. I just started back up on my Keto diet and am EXTREMELY excited that I can drink. I’ll definitely NOT be getting white girl wasted this weekend.

Gin – with Mint leaves / soda water and 1/2 lime juice – is AWESOME and refreshing !

Oh yes! Easily one of my favorites!

Can u drink a curtain amount everyday and still lose weight or do u suggest only drinking on weekends. I like drinking gin and diet 7up, but do Not want to hender my weight lose.

Everyone is different and this is something you have to test personally. Some people can have a drink every day and still lose, while others will stall out completely with any alcohol.

Hope this helps.

Hi my friend sent me this link – I started Atkins 2 weeks ago and am going on vacation next week on a cruise. I like to drink a little, mostly piña coladas, sweet drinks. What do you suggest for a sweet tooth, assume no wine collers either?

I would call the the cruise line to see if they offer things like sugar-free drink mixes (they do make pina colada and margarita mixes without sugar). If not, you could see if you could bring your own. Another option would be to bring Crystal light to mix with your drinks. Finally, if all else fails, order your liquor with diet soda. I personally love gin + soda + lime. You can also use colas and whatnot if you drink those.

Hope this helps,

So… In an evening, am I better off having 4.5 oz of alcohol at 190ish calories and 0 carbs, or having a 5 oz glass of wine at 120ish calories and 3-4 carbs. I’ve lost 16 lbs on medifast in 3 weeks. But in 6 weeks in going on a once in a lifetime trip that includes a 12 day cruise with a full beverage package. I don’t care if I don’t lose weight or even gain a few, but I don’t want to screw up what I’ve achieved by then. And while normally id have a few drinks a night in this situation, I’d like to have one, but I want to make the very best choice possible.

I say go with what will satisfy you most. Since this lifestyle is pretty strict carb wise, I think you really should have the option of picking what you actually want. Just be careful, your tolerance will be so much less!

It might sound crazy, but when I drink wine, I use a technique which seems to help me sweat it off. I go to bed, and two or three hours into sleep, go and drink a couple of glasses of water, and before I know it I am sweating everything out. I know it sounds strange, but I had actually test it with and without drinking the water. The next day, after sweating it all out, the scales show a difference.

Low carb cocktails

Welcome to Low Carb Cocktails Guide

Here you will find simple to make low carb cocktails.

Low carb cocktails refers to cocktails with a low level of carbohydrates. If you are in search of low carb cocktails, you are in the right place - this page is dedicated to just that, but also to вЂњhealth conscienceвЂќ cocktails in other words low fat and low sugar cocktails.

TIP: Check out our Cocktail Mixing Guide for an explanation of the terms used on this page.

People generally want to limit or lower their carb in take either for medical or health reasons or to lose weight. Studies show that if you want to lose weight, you need to limit the amount of calories you take in OR burn more than usual by exercising for example OR a combination of the two.

It is actually the calories and the not the carbs that nurtures those love handles. Therefore, we will first look at how many calories you need (if you donвЂ™t know). We also take a look at the calorie content of various spirits and liqueurs and, very importantly, low calorie cocktails.

The average adult needs about 2 500 to 3 000 calories per day to stay a constant weight. Your exact requirement depends on things like your height, age and sex. Click here to determine how to calculate your personal calorie requirement.

Every pound / kilogram of body weight represents about 3 500 / 7 800 calories. So, to lose a pound / kilogram you need to take in 3 500 / 7 800 fewer calories OR burn up this amount more by doing physical exercise.

Therefore, if you want to lose say 10 pounds / 4.5 kilograms, you need to get rid of 35 000 calories. If you do this over a period of 2 months, this means about 580 less calories per day.

Different alcoholic beverages contain different levels of calories. For example beer contains about 200 per 500 ml / 18 Oz. Spirits like vodka, gin and brandy contain about 220 per 100 ml / 3.5 Oz. Wine contain about 80 per 100 ml / 3.5 Oz. So, the base ingredient of the cocktail will have a big influence on itвЂ™s calorie content. The other ingredients (juices, sugar, etc) will of course also influence this.

Interestingly, beer contains a lot of carbohydrates but spirits like vodka and gin contain very few. If you want to limit the calories, steer clear from fruit juices and sweet, syrupy liqueurs and mixers. Alternatively, substitute the mixers with their diet or low fat variants.

Here is some more examples of ingredients and their calorie content:

В· Diet soda or diet tonic: 0 calories

В· Orange juice (250 ml / 9 oz): 114 calories

В· Cranberry juice cocktail (250 ml / 9 oz): 148 calories

В· Light orange juice (250 ml / 9 oz): 55 calories

В· Light cranberry juice (250 ml / 9 oz): 44 calories

В· Light lemonade (250 ml / 9 oz): 5.5 calories

В· Lemon or lime juice (150ml / 5 oz): 100 calories

As a very general rule of thumb, the longer the cocktail (like a Long Island Iced Tea) and the stronger, sweeter and the more mixers it contains, the more calories it has. If you need further guidance, consult a professional dietician or doctor.

LetвЂ™s look at a few low carb cocktails:

(Note the amount of calories is approximate and depends on the strength of the spirits used and the proportions in which you mix your cocktails.)

Calories: 210 per 250 ml / 9 Oz.

6 parts tomato cocktail juice

1 teaspoon tomato sauce or ketchup (optional)

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

A dash of Tabasco sauce

Salt and ground black pepper

Preparation:Put the vodka and tomato juice in a shaker with a few ice cubes. Add the tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce. Shake well and strain into the glass (which can be with or without ice). Add salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish:Celery stick, which serves as a stirrer as well.

Calories: 230 per 170 ml / 6 Oz.

1 part dry vermouth

1 part orange juice (go for a light/diet variant)

Preparation:Shake the ingredients and strain into the glass.

CUBA LIBRE LIGHT

Calories: 100 per 170 ml / 6 Oz.

1 part lime juice

Preparation:Pour the rum and juice into a glass filled half way with crushed ice. Top up with cola

Garnish:Thin lime or lemon wheel and often served with a stirrer.

Calories: 300 per 170 ml / 6 Oz

1 part dry vermouth

Preparation:Stir the ingredients well and strain into the glass.

Garnish:Green olive on a cocktail stick

Calories: 160 per 250 ml / 9 Oz

5 parts diet tonic water

Preparation:Fill the glass with ice. Stir the ingredients well and strain into the glass.

Calories: 130 per 200 ml / 7 Oz

1 part champagne

1 part orange juice (go for a light/diet variant)

Preparation:Pour the ingredients in the glass and stir gently.

Calories: 185 per 170 ml / 6 Oz

1 part dry vermouth

1 part lime juice

Preparation:Shake the ingredients with ice and strain into the glass.

Garnish:Slice of lime.

Calories: 130 per 200 ml / 7 Oz

4 parts grapefruit juice

Glass:Martini, although a highball is sometimes used.

Preparation:Shake the ingredients with ice and strain into the glass.

Garnish:Salt frosted rim for the glass.

Calories: 215 per 250 ml / 9 Oz

4 parts orange juice (go for a light/diet variant)

Preparation:Pour the vodka and orange juice into the ice filled glass and stir gently.

Garnish:Slice of orange, optional.

Calories: 140 per 200 ml / 7 Oz

Preparation:Pour the wine into the glass and top up with soda water.

Garnish:Lemon zest or twist.

Armed with the above information, you should now be able to spot the cocktails you need to avoid and which ones you can tweak slightly to create a low carb cocktail version.

LASTLY вЂ¦ tips to reduce your carb and calorie consumption while enjoying your cocktails:

1. Alternate your low carb cocktails with non-alcoholic drinks.

2. Go for drinks and cocktails with low calories, like light wine, light beer and low carb cocktails as above. Mix cocktails with water, club soda, low calorie juices, artificial sweeteners or sugar-free syrups for easy calorie savings.

3. Do not add a mixer.

4. Dilute your drink with water or soda water

Go back to the top of Low Carb Cocktails

Low Carb Vodka Holiday Cocktails

Low Carb Sea Breeze with Smoked Salmon Appetizer

Let’s face it, there are low carb holiday appetizers and party food out in cyberspace like you would NOT believe! But somehow, we always hear people ask about yummy low carb alcoholic beverages or festive low carb cocktails.

Dieting and drinking feels counter-intuitive. But remember, white knuckle dieting gets you about as far as the scene of the crash – off the low carb wagon, that is…

And our goal at CarbSmart is to give you the best tools for your low carb life. One of those tools is helping you make responsible alcoholic beverage or low carb cocktail choices. And that brings us to this month’s subject of Budget Low Carb. In honor of the season, CarbSmart’s Budget Low Carb is happy to present low carb alternatives to high carb cocktails. We’ll focus on vodka this time, since it’s a fairly universal alcohol.

We might as well call this post, “The thrillah from the chillah!” (“The thriller from the chiller” just doesn’t sport the same excitement!) If we are to make low carb a lifestyle, we have to recognize there is going to be a time when you feel like having a festive holiday drink or two. Go for it! Just count those carbs and have a safe, but fun time. Remember, alcohol lowers inhibitions leading to a greater likelihood of over eating.

A Round of Applause, Please, for Low Carb Holiday Vodka Cocktails

Vodka Talk

Monopolowa ad by B. Creative Advertising and Design. Image courtesy of Coloribus.

Most people have their favorite vodka. My favorite vodka, pre-cancer, was always Monopolowa, pronounced monopolo-vah, a triple filtered potato vodka – very good for the price.

Most vodka on the market is a product of grain. Many of you live gluten-free, making grain derived vodka a no-no, and making potato vodka a possible option as long as there is no cross-contamination with wheat gluten. Monopolowa’s price is another obvious advantage. A half-gallon bottle of Monopolowa is around $21.00 or $0.39/fluid ounce and lasts a long time! You can expect to pay triple or quadruple the price for premium and super-premium vodkas. And Monopolowa keeps up with the big hitters in the super-premium vodka market with ease.

We’ve even played tricks on our family and have given taste tests of Monopolowa versus Grey Goose. Monopolowa wins each blind tasting and is a fraction of the cost of Grey Goose. Plus, it’s not distilled from grain. Yahtzee! We went so far as to pour Monopolowa into an empty Grey Goose bottle. Sissy drank Monopolowa the entire evening. We mixed vodka, unflavored La Croix sparkling water, and lots of fresh squeezed lime wedges.

She said, “Gosh, these taste so great!”

And Brer Bear and Brear Fox, we jes’ smiled and “say” nothin’.

Except…if you look at the price of drinks at a bar or restaurant, expect to pay anywhere from $8-$15 per drink for these souped up chi-chi fancy-girl cocktails. Make ’em at home with friends for less than $1.50 a drink! The basic drink cost well under $1.00!

“Hello Value Menu? I’d like two Classic Dirty Dry Martinis to go please! Kthanx!”

Your Basic Low Carb Cocktails

You will agree, vodka, sparkling water, and lime is a very low carb alcoholic beverage. And of course, you always have the option to mix spirits with mineral water, club soda, diet tonic, sparkling water, or diet drinks, and remain faithfully low carb. Can I get an “Amen”?

And don’t forget, low carb beers, and dry red or white wines, make great holiday drinks as well. Consider pairing them with unflavored seltzer and serving with a lemon or lime twist. Dry wines have between 2-4 g of carbs per 4.3 oz serving and cutting them with seltzer will give you more drinks for your low carb buck. Watch the beer and wine though, because the carbs add up quickly.

Sometimes however, you want something more festive and high falootin’ than a “whiskey ‘n branch” or vodka with seltzer and lemon. Fluffy Chix Cook put together a few low carb Holiday cocktail concoctions for your sippin’ pleasure. Be sure to serve them in a fancy old-fashioned glass, martini glass, or sparkly stemware for best effect. Everything tastes better from a glass with a stem – even water with a slice of lemon!

Granular Erythritol tinted pink with either red food coloring or beet juice.

Use tinted, granular erythritol or Truvia to rim glasses. For most, erythritol and Truvia have negligible effects on blood sugar and insulin and many low carbers do not even count the grams of sugar alcohol in these two sugar substitutes. Mix batches of granular erythritol with a drop of food coloring, or different spices, like ground cinnamon, pinches of pumpkin pie spice, and cocoa.

To make colored erythritol or Truvia, I use 2 toothpick tips of color to 1 tsp of Truvia or granular Erythritol. Mix it up with the toothpick until it looks the way you like. Then add 1-2 tsp of additional uncolored sweetener and blend them. Each glass rim takes only a small amount.

Remember, the sweetening agent on the rim affects the sweetness of the drink. So I under sweeten my low carb cocktails if I’m serving them with a fancy rimmed glass.

For something even more unexpected, crushed sugar free hard candies add eye appeal to Holiday cocktail glass rims. Sugar free peppermints, Werther’s Caramels, and Werther’s Chocolate Mint hard candies work great. Even sugar free lemon drops make a delicious rim for cocktails and fancy martinis.

The low carb cocktails, Susie! Get to the Budget Friendly Low Carb Cocktails already.

(Because we don’t know how far you will go with your festive low carb libations, nutrition and costs do not include garnishes. They’re optional, remember?)

Classic Dirty Martini and Blackberry Martini make sophisticated low carb cocktails

Low-Carb Classic Dirty Vodka Martini

Shake with ice and strain, or serve over ice with 2-4 olives as a garnish.

2 oz Vodka
1/16 tsp Extra Dry Vermouth (Optional! I’d kill you if you added it to mine! Save a couple of pennies and omit it.)
1-2 tsp Green Olive Juice
2 Green Olives (Explore your options. Use a gourmet stuffed olive!)

Per Serving: 149 Calories; 2g Fat (69.0% calories from fat); trace Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 473mg Sodium; 2g Net Carbs

Low-Carb Blackberry Martini

Shake with ice and strain, or serve over ice with a frozen blackberry garnish.

Per Serving: 131 Calories; trace Fat (2.0% calories from fat); trace Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 0mg Sodium; 1g Net Carbs

Low Carb Cosmopolitan or Low Carb Cosmo, either way works!

Low Carb Cosmopolitan Cocktail

Shake with ice and strain, or serve over ice with a festive swizzle stick. Dip rim of glass in red erythritol by rubbing rim with an orange twist and coating rim of glass in red tinted granular erythritol.

Per Serving: 138 Calories; trace Fat (3.5% calories from fat); trace Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 2mg Sodium; 2g Net Carbs.

Low Carb Shark’s Fin uses homemade Low Carb Cranberry Juice.

Low-Carb Shark’s Fin Cocktail

Vodka, cranberry with a lime twist, served in a highball glass over ice. Serve with a lime wedge and festive Holiday straw or drink stirrer.

1 1/2 oz Vodka
1/8 cup Low Carb Cranberry Juice
1/4 cup La Croix Unflavored or Lime Flavored sparkling water
1 lime wedge

Per Serving: 105 Calories; trace Fat (3.5% calories from fat); trace Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 2mg Sodium. 2g Net Carbs.

Virgin Shark’s Fin uses homemade Low Carb Cranberry Juice, lime and sparkling water

Low-Carb Virgin Shark’s Fin Cocktail

Serve in a highball glass over ice. Serve with an orange zest twist, wedge of lime, and festive Holiday straw or drink stirrer.

Per Serving: 9 Calories; trace Fat (3.5% calories from fat); trace Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 2mg Sodium; 2g Net Carbs.

Low-Carb Peppermint Twist Cocktail

Shake with ice and strain, or serve over ice. Serve with a sugar free peppermint rimmed glass or serve with a plain rim and a frozen peppermint dropped in the bottom of the glass.

Per Serving: 128 Calories; 0g Fat (0.0% calories from fat); 0g Protein; 0g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 14mg Sodium; 0g Net Carbs

Low-Carb Bailey’s Twist Cocktail

Shake with ice and strain, or serve over ice. Serve without any glass enhancement. This drink is as virtuous as George Bailey’s guardian angel, Clarence!

Per Serving: 128 Calories; 0g Fat (0.0% calories from fat); 0g Protein; 0g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 14mg Sodium; 0g Net Carbs

Low-Carb Junior Mint Cocktail

Shake with ice and strain, or serve over ice. Dip glass rim in peppermint syrup and dust with erythritol and cocoa sugar.

Per Serving: 177 Calories; 5g Fat (94.5% calories from fat); trace Protein; trace Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 19mg Cholesterol; 20mg Sodium; trace g Net Carbs.

Low-Carb Mounds Bar Cocktail – Shake with ice and strain, or serve over ice. Dip glass rim in chocolate syrup and dust with erythritol, cocoa, and toasted crushed coconut.

Per Serving: 177 Calories; 5g Fat (94.5% calories from fat); trace Protein; trace Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 19mg Cholesterol; 20mg Sodium; trace g Net Carbs.

Low-Carb Bailey’s Irish Cream

Shake with ice and strain, or serve over ice. Dip glass rim in Bailey’s flavored syrup and dust with erythritol and cocoa sugar.

Per Serving: 177 Calories; 5g Fat (94.5% calories from fat); trace Protein; trace Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 19mg Cholesterol; 20mg Sodium; trace g Net Carbs.

Low Carb Eggnog in a Christmas Vacation moose mug!

Low Carb Eggnog Cocktail

And if your vice happens to be low carb eggnog, you can always feel free to mosey on over for a visit at the Fluffy Chix Cook Kitchen where you will find a delicious cooked eggnog along with a little more low carb holiday cocktail fun.

We also have the recipe for the Low Carb Cranberry Juice you will need if you plan on making the Shark’s Fin drinks or the low carb Cosmopolitan. For an elegant appetizer or first course with your festive low carb cocktails, try Quick Carpaccio. It’s perfectly low carb, Paleo – licious, NK (Nutritional Ketosis) party food that will nourish your body without landing on your hips.

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About Susie T. Gibbs

“White knuckle dieting only gets you so far – about as far as the scene of the crash.” So says Susie T. Gibbs, author of Fluffy Chix Cook, an irreverent food and recipe blog out of Texas churning out tall tales and low carb vittles. Susie comes from a long line of fluffy chix who cooked (and talked) a blue streak and she’s on a mission. Having lost 86 pounds, she’s a gun-toting DFSW (Delicate Flower of Southern Womanhood) with steely determination and deadly aim. And she wants to help you live a healthy, low carb life while enjoying all the comfort foods you’ve come to know and love. No willpower necessary.

Please join Susie and go from fluffy to fit one low carb meal at a time. And don’t forget, you too can learn how to wrangle a tangle of bacon and skin chiles like a champ when you join SusieT in Fluffy Chix low carb adventures along the azalea trails and tangled bayous of the wild and wicked, Texas Gulf Coast.

Low-Carb Cosmopolitan Cocktail Recipe

Nutrition Highlights (per serving)

Cosmopolitan cocktails are festive and fun to drink. They also have quite a lot of sugar, due to the cranberry juice (which typically has a lot of added sugar) and the Cointreau or Triple Sec.

Between these two liqueurs, there is the equivalent of at least 4 teaspoons of sugar (16 grams of carbohydrate) in each Cosmo.

Here's a way to make it low in sugar and carbs without sacrificing flavor.

10 Best Low-Calorie Cocktails

Office parties, family gatherings, dinner with friends, New Year's Eve bashes—the holidays are filled with boozey temptations. To imbibe without feeling guilty, sip in moderation (watch portion size! A couple refills or an oversize serving glass and you're back in calorie city) and stick to these fewer-than-200-calorie drink options.

Low-Calorie Cocktail: Mojito

Although a drink made with sugar screams "back away!" for the waistline-conscious, you can request half the simple syrup—or ditch it altogether. Mint, lime, and soda water are all naturally low-cal, a shot of rum is about 100 calories, and 2 tbsp. of sugar (half the normal serving) in the form of syrup is about 40 calories.

Photo: Condé Nast Archive

Low-Calorie Cocktail: Rum and Diet Coke

Ah, the classic rum and Coke—minus the, well, Coke . Enid Cortes, bartender at New York City's Royalton Hotel, says a white rum and diet cola is a good choice to cut the calories. Or try a spiced rum to give the drink a kick.

Photo: Gourmet/Romulo Yanes

Low-Calorie Cocktail: Sea Breeze

If you usually order a vodka-cranberry, try a sea breeze. The 4 oz. of grapefruit juice, 1½ oz. of cranberry juice, and 1 oz. of vodka will set you back about 180 calories.

Photo: Gourmet/Romulo Yanes

Low-Calorie Cocktail: Vanilla Vodka and Diet Ginger Ale

For a drink that tastes like a slice of cake, order a diet ginger ale and vanilla vodka. If you use a single shot of liquor, it's less than 100 calories—and sugar-free.

Low-Calorie Cocktail: Tequila and Soda

Cortes says to ditch the sugar-laden margarita and say *viva la tequila *on the rocks with club soda for a 100-calorie drink. Add a squeeze of lime to up the refreshment factor.

Photo: CN Digital Studio

Low-Calorie Cocktail: Champagne

Forget choosing between wine and beer. A 4-oz. glass of bubbly is only 85 calories. That's about 15 calories less than a 12-oz. bottle of light beer or a 4-oz. glass of wine—and let's be honest: The average glass of wine is usually at least twice that size.

Low-Calorie Cocktail: Sour-Apple Martini

We bet you thought this list was going to be filled with sippers like white-wine spritzers. Guess again. While we don't recommend a Carrie Bradshaw-approved cosmo (it has more than 250 calories), that doesn't mean all martinis are off limits. Try a sour-apple one, made with 2 1/2 oz. sour mix and 3/4 oz. each vodka and sour apple liqueur, for a 160-calorie treat.

Low-Calorie Cocktail: Vodka and Diet Lime-Flavored Soda Like Sprite Zero or Diet Sierra Mist

No, it's not the most glamorous drink at the bar, but it is refreshing (and refreshingly low in calories—under 100!). Plus, it's clear, so your dry cleaner will thank you if you spill any on your new party dress.

Low-Calorie Cocktail: Mudslide

This is the kind of sweet drink that sounds like it'll set you back more calories than a hot-fudge sundae. In reality, it'll cost you 184 calories. Maybe the Dude from The Big Lebowski could have whittled his waistline if he'd drunk these instead of white Russians (338 calories).

Low-Calorie Cocktail: Gin and Tonic

It's always good to have a go-to drink, and unless you're still in school, a vodka and Red Bull doesn't count. Up your sophistication level while lowering your calorie count by ordering a G&T. There are 103 calories in 1 oz. gin and 3 oz. tonic.

(C) 2008 Jupiterimages

Low-Calorie Cocktail: Mojito

Although a drink made with sugar screams "back away!" for the waistline-conscious, you can request half the simple syrup—or ditch it altogether. Mint, lime, and soda water are all naturally low-cal, a shot of rum is about 100 calories, and 2 tbsp. of sugar (half the normal serving) in the form of syrup is about 40 calories.

Low-Calorie Cocktails

5 ways to keep from overloading on calories when you have an alcoholic drink.

WebMD archives content after 2 years to ensure our readers can easily find the most timely content.

">From the WebMD Archives

It's been a long week, and you're looking forward to happy hour. But a night on the town can do serious damage to your diet, especially if you order cocktails made with high-calorie mixers.

Still, happy hour doesn't have to be a diet downer. With a little planning, you can avoid diet disaster, and there are some alcoholic drinks that are relatively low in calories.

It's all too easy to overdo it with alcohol calories. We all know desserts are fattening. But when it comes to alcoholic drinks, sometimes the calories don't register, even though a single chocolate martini has more calories than a McDonald's grilled chicken sandwich. In fact, 1 gram of alcohol has 7 calories, compared to only 4 calories for a gram of carbohydrates or protein.

And calories add up even more quickly for mixed drinks than for beer and wine. The standard 1.5 ounce serving of 80-proof alcohol has 96 calories even before you add any mixers. A 6-ounce serving of orange juice has 84 calories, but add a shot of alcohol to make it a screwdriver, and the calories more than double.

Calories aren't the only reason to take it easy on alcohol. Not only do cocktails boost calories, they also have a powerful impact on your inhibitions.

"Your resolve can be really strong when you are sober, but after a few drinks, you may find yourself mindlessly overeating the nuts, another slice of pizza, or whatever food is within striking distance," says Christine Gerbstadt, RD. Drinking alcohol can also make you feel hungrier because alcohol can lower blood sugar.

What Makes Calories in Alcoholic Drinks Add Up?

The number of calories in mixed drinks depends on several things, including the amount and proof of the alcohol; the mixers; and the size of the drink.

"It's the mixers, syrups, and sodas that really get people into calorie trouble, because most drinks start with 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits that only have around 96 calories, but mixologists can easily turn that into a drink with hundreds of calories," says Carolyn O'Neil, MS, RD, co-author of The Dish on Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous.

Whether you're drinking a beer or a cosmo, the higher the alcohol content, the higher the calories, says O'Neil. For example:

80-proof vodka (40% alcohol; the most common type) has 64 calories per 1oz

86-proof vodka (43% alcohol) has 70 calories/1 oz

90-proof vodka (45% alcohol) has 73 calories/1 oz

100-proof vodka (50% alcohol) has 82 calories/1 oz

When it comes to portion size, the average serving size of wine and alcoholic beverages is probably smaller than you think. Beer, on the other hand, is more standardized in bottles and beer glasses, except if you are in a European beer garden.

Most glasses of wine contain 125-150 calories, but that can double depending on the size of the glass size and how full it is. At cocktail or dinner parties, glasses are often refilled before empty, making it especially hard for dieters to track their alcohol and calorie consumption.

Beer can range from 64-198 calories per 12 ounces. Light beers are a better choice because "they contain the same amount of alcohol as regular beers but fewer carbohydrates," says Gerbstadt. And, she adds, "low-carb beer is just another term for light beer."

Another diet destroyer is the rising popularity of super-caloric cocktails.

Some are desserts in disguise, from chocolate martinis to hot buttered rum. Creative cocktails are all the rage, and bartenders are tempting patrons with mega-calorie cocktails like the Key lime pie martini. It's creamy, delicious -- and loaded with calories, from the cream to the graham-cracker crust rim.

"The trend in cocktails is to sugar the rim, add chocolate syrup or any number of creative sweet touches that boost calories, and turn the cocktail into a dessert," says O'Neil.

If you must have one of these, she advises, trim your dinner calories and enjoy your cocktail afterward as a dessert. Better yet, order a small after-dinner liqueur, like Amaretto, over ice and sip it slowly.

And then there are the super-sized drinks. Some chain restaurants serve jumbo drinks, like margaritas with double shots and extra mixers, that could add up to 1,000 calories or more in one mug, Gerbstadt says. A single giant glass of TGI Friday's frozen mudslide, for example, contains 1,100 calories.

5 Tips to Curb Alcohol Calories

So how do you keep those calories in alcoholic drinks from adding up so quickly? Here are five tips from the experts.

1. Alternate alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks to save calories. The savvy dieter finishes one cocktail, glass of wine or beer, then has a "mocktail" -- a nonalcoholic, preferably zero-calorie beverage (like sparkling water with a lime) that looks like the real thing. This strategy not only reduces the risk of over-consuming calories and alcohol, but it also helps you stay hydrated so your head will thank you in the morning!

"It is a good idea to start the evening with a tall glass of water or sparkling water to satisfy your thirst so you won't use the alcoholic beverage to do it for you," adds Gerbstadt.

2. Choose wine, light beer, or simple cocktails made with low-calorie mixers. Just as you might order your salad with dressing on the side, don't be shy about asking for your cocktail your way.

"You can save 100 calories if you have a diet soda as your mixer," says Dawn Blatner-Jackson, MS, RD, author of The Flexitarian Diet.

Mix cocktails with water, club soda, low calorie juices, artificial sweeteners or sugar-free syrups for easy calorie savings. Fruit and vegetable juices can be good choices because they are lower in calories than some other mixers and also contain disease-preventing antioxidants. Still, "be careful of fruit juices because even though they are more nutritious, the calories can add up quickly," says Blatner-Jackson.

Some mixers that won't pack on the pounds include:

Diet soda or diet tonic: 0 calories

Orange juice (6 oz): 84 calories

Cranberry juice cocktail (8 oz): 136 calories

Light orange juice (8 oz): 50 calories

Light cranberry juice (8 oz): 40 calories

Light lemonade (8 oz): 5 calories

Coffee, tea: 0 calories

Baja Bob's sugar-free margarita or sweet 'n' sour mix: 0 calories

Lemon or lime juice (1/2 oz): 10 calories

DaVinci or Torani's sugar-free syrups: 0

3. Skip the mixer altogether. Try ordering your favorite spirit or one of the new flavored liquors on the rocks. "Infused vodkas are very popular because they are not sweetened but infused with flavors, from jalapeno to peach, without adding any extra calories," says O'Neil.

4. Dilute your drink. Another option is diluting your drink with club soda or sparkling water. Wine spritzers are a low-calorie standby. And if you usually drink vodka and cranberry, for example, try it with club soda, just a splash of cranberry juice, and a squeeze of lime. Garnish with a wedge of citrus or pineapple to add flavor and few calories.

5. Have a game plan. Before heading out to the cocktail party or happy hour, make sure you have a game plan. Decide in advance the number of cocktails you are going to drink and cut back on calories during the day in anticipation. But eat a light snack before you go so you won't get tipsy with the first drink and it will be less tempted to dive into the food. Always be aware of your own personal limits. Don't drink too much, and, of course, don't drink and drive.

How Many Calories in Popular Cocktails?

So just how many calories are in your favorite cocktail? These calorie counts for popular alcoholic drinks are approximate, based on popular recipes, but may vary depending on ingredients and portions.

Pina Colada (6 oz): 378 calories

Mojito (8 oz): 214 calories

Cosmopolitan (4 oz): 200 calories

Chocolate martini: (2 oz each vodka, chocolate liqueur, cream, 1/2 oz creme de cacao, chocolate syrup): 438

Margarita (8 oz): 280

Skinnygirl margarita (4 oz): 100

Green apple martini (1 oz each vodka, sour apple, apple juice): 148

Martini (2.5 oz): 160

Port wine (3 oz):128

Bloody Mary (5 oz): 118

Red wine (5 oz):120

White wine (5 oz): 120

Alcohol-free wine (5 oz): 20-30

Beer (12 oz): 150-198

Light beer (12 oz): 95-136

Ultra-light beer (12 oz): 64-95

Champagne (5oz): 106-120

Coffee liqueur (3 ounces): 348

Godiva chocolate liqueur (3 oz): 310

Wine spritzer (5 oz): 100

Eggnog with rum (8 ounces): 370

Hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps (8 oz): 380

Hot buttered rum (8 oz): 292

Spiced cider with rum ( 8 oz):150

Mulled wine (5 oz): 200

Vodka and tonic (8 oz): 200

Screwdriver (8 oz): 190

Mimosa (4 oz): 75

Gin and tonic (7 oz): 200

Long Island iced tea (8 oz): 780

White Russian (2 oz vodka, 1.5 oz coffee liqueur, 1.5 oz cream): 425

Mai Tai (6 oz) (1.5 oz rum, 1/2 oz cream de along, 1/2 oz triple sec, sour mix, pineapple juice): 350

Rum and Coke (8 oz): 185

Rum and Diet Coke (8 oz): 100

Mike's Hard Lemonade (11 oz): 98

Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD, is director of nutrition for WebMD. Her opinions and conclusions are her own.

Carolyn O'Neil, MS, RD, co-author, The Dish on Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous.

Christine Gerbstadt, MD, MPH, RD, spokeswoman, American Dietetic Association.

Dawn Blatner-Jackson, MS, RD, author, The Flexitarian Diet.

2010 U.S. Dietary Guidelines.

American Heart Association.

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