Alcoholic Drinks That Are Low in Carbs Menu Verywell Fit Nutrition Weight Management Nutrition Facts Nutrition Basics Diets Meal Plans Meal Delivery Services View All News Fitness and Nutrition What to Buy How We Test Products Fitness Gear Nutrition Products Tools Recipe Nutrition Calculator Weight Loss Calorie Goal BMI Calculator Body Fat Percentage Calculator Calories Burned by Activity Daily Calories Burned Pace Calculator About Us Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Search Diets Low-Carb Alcoholic Drinks That Are Low in Carbs By Laura Dolson Laura Dolson Laura Dolson is a health and food writer who develops low-carb and gluten-free recipes for home cooks. Learn about our editorial process Updated on July 15, 2020 Medically reviewed Verywell Fit articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and nutrition and exercise healthcare professionals. Medical Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more. by Barbie Cervoni MS, RD, CDCES, CDN Medically reviewed by Barbie Cervoni MS, RD, CDCES, CDN Barbie Cervoni MS, RD, CDCES, CDN, is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist. Learn about our Medical Review Board Print Verywell / Alexandra Shytsman Table of Contents View All Table of Contents Shots and Highballs Cocktails Liqueurs Beer Wine Cocktails, beer, and wine can be high in carbohydrates and sugar. If you’re trying to reduce your carb intake, but still want to enjoy the occasional drink, there are low-carb alcohol options. You can even have alcohol on the keto diet, especially once you’ve picked up some tips and tricks for lowering the carb counts of your favorite cocktails. Understanding which types of drinks have the least amount of carbohydrates can allow you to enjoy cocktails in moderation and keep you on track with your eating plan. Shots and Highballs Verywell / Alexandra Shytsman Even though they're sourced from grain, distilled spirits such as rum, vodka, whiskey, gin, and tequila have no carbohydrates (after the distillation process, all that's left is the alcohol). Spirits can be served as a single shot, with ice, or with a mixer. If you use a mixer that's naturally calorie- and carb-free, like still or sparkling water or club soda, you can make a totally carb-free drink. How to Stop Drinking Soda Other popular mixers do add calories and carbs. However, many brands of tonic water, ginger ale, cola, and lemon-lime soda (7Up or Sprite) come in diet versions. If you're making a drink that's heavier on the mixer than the alcohol, such as a highball, use low-carb mixers to avoid added carbs. Carb Count for Spirits Whiskey (1 oz) 0 grams Tequila (1 oz) 0 grams Brandy (1 oz) 0 grams Dry Martini (7.5 oz) 0 grams Bloody Mary (7.5 oz) 7 grams Gin and Tonic (7.5 oz) 15 grams Cosmopolitan (8 oz) 16 grams Rum and Coke (7.5 oz) 18 grams White Russian (7.5 oz) 27 grams Margarita (7.5 oz) 38 grams *Data from USDA FoodData Central Cocktails Verywell / Alexandra Shytsman The most straightforward carb-free option, aside from straight shots is spirits paired with carbonated mixers. If you prefer cocktails made with sweeter mixers like fruit juice, there are ways to make these drinks lower in carbs. Low-Carb Mixers Citrus mixers like lemon and lime juices usually don’t contribute much sugar, as a single drink doesn’t require much. The exception is orange juice. While orange juice doesn’t have much more sugar per ounce (3 grams) than other citrus juices (2 grams), you typically use more OJ to make a drink than, say, lemon or lime juice. One of the most popular drinks made with OJ is a screwdriver (vodka and orange juice). Depending on the size and who is serving it, a typical screwdriver can easily have 19 grams of carbohydrate or more. The carbs in other popular fruit juice mixers vary, but keep in mind that how much you use (a splash versus a pour) will influence your cocktails’ final carb count. Carb Count for Fruit Juice Mixers Diet cranberry juice cocktail 0.2 grams Tomato juice 1 gram Light cranberry juice cocktail 1 gram Apple juice 3.5 grams Pineapple juice 4 grams Cranberry juice cocktail 4 grams *per ounce Artificial Sweeteners Simple syrup is a solution of sugar in water used to sweeten cocktails. One ounce has 4 tablespoons of sugar, about 50 grams of carbohydrates and almost 200 calories. Simple syrup is often combined with lemon juice or lime juice to make a sweet-and-sour mixer. To lighten the sugar and carb load, make your own sugar-free sweet and sour mixer using a liquid artificial sweetener. However, there are pros and cons to using artificial sweeteners that you should consider before adding them to your liquor cabinet. The Food and Drug Administration has approved five artificial sweeteners for use: saccharin, acesulfame, aspartame, neotame, and sucralose. For example, the main appeal of sugar substitutes is that they don't add calories or carbohydrates, making them popular choices for people trying to lose weight or control their blood sugar. Many products used to mix alcoholic beverages, like soda and powder mixes have sugar-free varieties. However, in order to compensate for the lack of flavor, artificial sweeteners are generally much sweeter in taste than real sugar. Some research has indicated that when we eat these sweeter sugar substitutes regularly, it may alter our tastes. We may start to prefer and seek out sweeter foods, finding those with only naturally-occurring amounts of sugar (or no sugar) too bland. To avoid artificial additives, look for products sweetened with stevia, erythritol, and fruit juice concentrate or crystals. Other Ingredients Small amounts of bitters, an alcoholic preparation made with botanical ingredients, are often used in cocktails, especially an Old Fashioned. Carb counts for bitters vary. Some preparations have few or no carbs, while other mixes can have upwards of 15 grams per tablespoon. Vermouth is a flavored fortified wine used to make classic martinis. Dry vermouth contains about 1 gram of carbs per ounce, while sweetened forms contain about 4 grams per ounce. Low-Carb Cocktail Recipes The following are a range of delicious low-carb cocktails to try: Low-Carb Cosmopolitan (1 gram) Sugar-Free Whiskey Sour (2 grams) Low-Carb Tom Collins (2 grams) Sugar-Free Margarita (6 grams) Bloody Mary (9 grams) Sugar-Free White Russian (11 grams) Liqueurs Verywell / Alexandra Shytsman Of all the alcoholic beverages, liqueurs have the most carbs—and always contain sugar. If you want to have a liqueur on its own, be mindful of portion size. If you usually include liqueur in your cocktail recipes, use a smaller pour or a sugar-free alternative. These carb counts for popular liqueur are for one regular-sized jigger (about 1.5 ounces), but the carb counts for individual brands may vary. When you have the choice of several brands, be sure to carefully read nutrition labels. Liqueur Carb Counts B & B (brandy and Bénédictine) 8 grams Kirsch 9 grams Grand Marnier 10 grams Bailey's Irish Cream 11 grams Campari 12 grams Cointreau 15 grams Triple sec 16 grams Ouzo 16 grams Sambuca 17 grams Crème de cassis 17 grams Crème de menthe 21 grams Crème de cacao 22 grams Coffee liqueur (Kahlúa) 24 (or more) grams Amaretto 25 grams *per 1.5 ounces Liqueurs as Mixers Bénédictine, crème de cacao, crème de menthe, and Cointreau are also used as mixers. You can still enjoy these drinks in moderation by using a swap to lower the amount of sugar the drinks contain. Replace liqueur with an equal volume of sugar-free syrup. Several brands, like DaVinci or Torani, sell syrups in an array of flavors—some of which are those of liqueurs like amaretto, crème de menthe, and Irish Cream. Replace the flavor of liqueur by using other flavorings. A drop or two of orange extract can substitute for orange liqueur such as Grand Marnier or Cointreau. Peppermint extract can take the place of peppermint schnapps. Use flavored spirits. Try using citrus-flavored vodka as the base of your drink rather than adding liqueur. Just be aware that in some cases, the spirits may have a higher alcohol content than the liqueur they're replacing. Beer Verywell / Alexandra Shytsman Regular beer contains about 12 grams of carbs per serving. However, the number can vary from one brand to another, so check the label. In general, the darker or heavier the beer, the more carbs it has. Beers with higher alcohol percentage have more calories and carbohydrates than less alcoholic beers. The 9 Best Truly Gluten-Free Beers on the Market Today Craft Beer The carb grams in 12 ounces of light beer varies from 2.4 to 7. Ales have around 5 to 9 carb grams. Stouts or dark beers vary greatly, but extra-stout varieties can have up to 20 grams per bottle. Check the label or brewer’s website for specific craft beers, but keep in mind that many can rival stout in carb counts. Beer Carb Counts Bud Select 55 1.8 grams Miller 64 2.4 grams Michelob Ultra 2.6 grams Miller Light 3.2 grams Coors Light 5 grams Bud Light 6.6 grams Heineken 11 grams Budweiser 11 grams Pabst Blue Ribbon 12 grams Stella Artois 13 grams Corona Extra 14 grams Guinness Extra 14 grams Fuller's London Porter 20 grams Samuel Adams Double Bock 27 grams *by the bottle Non-Alcoholic Beer If you like the taste of beer but prefer non-alcoholic versions, there are some that are relatively low-carb and low-calorie. For example, a 12-ounce can of Busch NA Low Alcohol Beer has 60 calories and 12.9 grams of carbs, and MillerCoors non-alcoholic beer has 58 calories and 12.2 grams of carbs per 12-ounce can. Wine Verywell / Alexandra Shytsman Overall, wine contains a small amount of carbohydrate. While the carb count for each type varies, as a general rule, sweeter wines have higher carb counts. Wine Carb Counts Dry champagne 2.5 grams Sauvignon blanc 3 grams Pinot grigio 3 grams Chardonnay 3.1 grams Pinot noir 3.4 grams Shiraz or syrah 3.7 grams Cabernet sauvignon 3.8 grams Zinfandel 4.2 grams Rosé 5 grams Riesling 5 grams Muscat 8 grams Dessert wine 12-14 grams Late harvest wine 20 grams *per 5-ounce serving Wine or spirit coolers can have 30 to 40 grams of carb per bottle. If you’re eating (and drinking) low-carb, avoid “breezers” and “hard lemonade” as these beverages are primarily sugar. A Word From Verywell You can enjoy an occasional cocktail, beer, or wine as part of a low-carb lifestyle. If you're cutting carbs to manage diabetes, be aware that alcohol can make your blood sugar levels erratic. Whether or not you take medication to manage your diabetes will also be a factor. For example, for those people who take insulin or glucose-lowering medication, alcohol can cause low blood sugars. Remember that reducing a drink’s carb count won’t lessen the effects of alcohol. Always drink responsibly. How Does Alcohol Affect Weight? 1 Source Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Green E, Murphy C. Altered processing of sweet taste in the brain of diet soda drinkers. Physiol Behav. 2012;107(4):560-7.a. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2012.05.006 Additional Reading FoodData Central. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Published April 1, 2019. By Laura Dolson Laura Dolson is a health and food writer who develops low-carb and gluten-free recipes for home cooks. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit Related Articles The Best Non-Alcoholic Beer, Wine, and Spirits, according to a Registered Dietitian The 9 Best Post-Workout Snacks to Buy Online of 2022 Low-Sugar Fruits to Eat on a Low-Carb Diet Why Maltitol May Not Be a Good Option for a Low-Carb Sweetener How to Count Carbs for Health or Wellness The 8 Best Low-Carb Snacks of 2022, According to a Dietitian Scotch Whiskey Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits High-Carb Foods to Avoid on a Low-Carb Diet The 7 Best Sugar Alternatives of 2022, According to a Dietitian Unwind With a Low-Sugar Margarita Recipe Passion Fruit Juice Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits The Best Protein Bars for Men, According to a Dietitian Kefir Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits Low-Carb Bloody Mary Cocktail Recipe With Less Sugar Cut Margarita Calories and Make a Skinny One at Home The 6 Best Sports, According to a Dietitian When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Cookies Settings Reject All Accept All