5 Low Calorie Cocktails

Fact: Most people like alcohol. Even if you don't, you probably have a few drinks when you are in a social setting. With food, it is a little easier to gauge your calories because we have been taught that certain things are healthy and others are not. However, with alcohol, it is a little more difficult.

Cocktails can be particularly difficult because it all depends on what the bartender or mixologist decides to put in the drink. And most cocktails contain some form of syrup and a lot of alcohol. Syrups are predominately sugar-based, and of course, the more alcohol anything contains, the more calories it contains as well. 

To make sure you are staying within your caloric goals, the best way to approach this is to be prepared before you head to the bar. That means you should already know what drinks work for you. Let's look at 5 cocktails today that contain fewer calories that many of the others.

Infused vodka: A shot of 80 proof vodka (1.5 fluid ounces) contains about 100 calories. Yes, that's similar to a glass of wine. It is this way because the alcohol content in vodka is much more. And the more the alcohol, the greater the calories. However, vodka is drunk in less quantity than wine. Now, think about the vodka cocktails. They not only add in vodka, but they also add in some flavored syrup which can multiply the calories quickly. One way of minimizing the calories is to just get infused vodka. You could make your at home with all sorts of fruits or peppers, or you could ask for some at bars. Some companies like Absolut do make vodka infused with peppers, with lemon, etc. The infusion itself usually does not add many calories to the drink so you could remain in the 100 calorie region.

Rocket's Red Glare: This drink is made of 1 oz of TY KU Soju and 1 oz of 100% cranberry juice. Soju is an Asian distilled spirit that is smoother and lower in calories than vodka. Granted, you may not find it in every bar you go, but if you do find it, it is a great option. Soju itself only contains about 60 calories in a shot, and when you mix it with the cranberry, it comes to about 95 calories. Not bad huh?

Sake Sunrise: In Japanese restaurants, they usually serve a whole jar of sake. However, to make it into a cocktail, you really only need about 1.5 oz. That contains about 80 calories. To make the sake sunrise, mix the sake with about 2 oz orange juice for a total of about 105 calories.

Gin and Tonic: You can't go wrong with the old G&T. A regular-sized gin and tonic is about 4 oz (1 oz gin and 3 oz tonic) totaling about 105 calories. Who doesn't love that?

Champagne cocktails: Mostly, a 4 oz serving of champagne only contains about 90 calories. This means you can serve your champagne with a whole host of fruits in it and still say around the 100 calorie mark. Flavor it like you would do a sangria (chop up some fruits in it), or just put in a dash of 100% juice (and I mean a dash), or set some olives or cherries at the bottom of your glass.

I hope that helps as you go to summer parties! We don't want you wondering why your waistline is expanding though you've been eating the right things :)

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Photo credit: Sandiegomagazine.com