12 Low-Calorie Cocktails (Under 150 Calories)
A refreshing cocktail
Delicious Low-Calorie Cocktails
Many people love to sit back, relax, and sip on their favorite drink, but feel they can't do so because of the high-calorie count. Fortunately, there are ways to tweak your favorite drinks to bring the calorie count down so you can still enjoy them.
While some of these taste very close to their classic versions, some will be a little different due to the reduction of sugar. In addition, you'll find that some of your favorite drinks contain ingredients that are actually beneficial to your health. Here they are in no particular order.
1. Bloody Mary Cocktail
Known as a hangover cure, the Bloody Mary is often considered a morning drink or one that is enjoyed at brunch. The average amount of calories for a shot of vodka is 97. Depending on which brand tomato juice you use, the caloric count can be quite low. I'm using Campbell's tomato juice for this recipe which contains 25 calories. The additional ingredients might add an extra couple of calories making this drink about 125 calories.
Ingredients
- 1 shot vodka
- 4 oz. tomato juice
- 1 dash Worcestershire sauce
- 1 dash Tabasco sauce
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
- 1 celery stalk
Preparation
Fill a glass with ice. Mix all ingredients except for the celery together. Pour over the ice. Add the celery stick for garnish.
Notes
This is a mild version of the drink. If you like more heat, then increase the Worchester and Tabasco sauces. You can also add some pepper.
There are actually some health benefits to this drink thanks to the tomato juice which contains many healthy vitamins and minerals including vitamins C and A along with antioxidants like lycopene which is good for your heart.
2. Gin and Tonic
In the 1800s, British soldiers stationed in India were given quinine each day to keep malaria away. It tasted so bad that they began to mix the quinine with water and sugar to sweeten it up and then finally paired it with gin thus creating gin and tonic.
Gin and tonic can often be a higher-calorie drink because of the tonic water which is high in sugar, thus making it high in calories. You can get around this by using diet tonic water such as Diet Schweppes or Zevia Mixer tonic water with both coming in at 0 calories. A shot of gin is about 100 calories and a lime wedge is about two calories, so the calorie total for this drink is just over 100 calories.
Ingredients
- 1 shot gin
- 4 oz. tonic water
- 1 lime wedge
Preparation
Put ice cubes in a glass. Pour the gin in, followed by the tonic. Add the lime wedge to the side of the glass.
A refreshing Mojito
3. Low-Calorie Mojito
Originating in Cuba, the mojito is a very refreshing drink dating back over five hundred years. In its classic form it has about 240 calories. However, with a little tweaking, you can cut those calories in half.
A shot is rum is about 98 calories while the juice of a lime is around 20 calories and the mint leaves will only add two to three calories to the drink.
Ingredients
- 1 shot white rum
- 4 oz. Sprite Zero Sugar
- Juice of 1 lime
- 6 mint leaves
Preparation
Put the lime juice and mint leaves in the bottom of the glass and muddle, (crush) them. Add the rum, followed by the Sprite. If you'd like, you can add some mint leaves or a lime wedge for garnish.
Notes
Mint leaves are good for you. They can help relieve indigestion and contain calcium and several vitamins. Additionally, they're good for the skin and can help clear congestion.
4. Mimosa
The mimosa was created in France and is a very popular morning drink that is commonly served at brunch. It consists of half champagne and half orange juice.
Normally served in a champagne flute, you can first pour three ounces of champagne into the glass, while tilting the glass, then add the three ounces of orange juice.
While an average amount of calories for three ounces of champagne is 75, the calories from the orange juice depends on what kind of orange juice you use.
Typically, there are 38 calories for three ounces of orange juice, but you can cut that back to only 20 if you use a reduced-sugar orange juice such as Tropicana Trop50 or Simply Light orange juice.
Most people are aware that orange juice is very healthy because it is high in vitamin C. However, a lot of people don't know the benefits of champagne, including the fact that it contains heart-healthy antioxidants.
Whiskey and Coke
5. Jack Daniels and Coke
Jasper Newton Daniel (aka Jack Daniel) learned the art of whiskey making as a teenager from a preacher. He took what he learned and opened his own establishment in 1866 making this the first registered distillery in the United States and the liquor Jack Daniels was born.
One of the most popular liquors, a shot of this Tennessee whiskey will add 98 calories to your calorie intake. Now, if you pair it with Diet Coke, versus regular Coke, then your entire drink will remain at 98 calories.
Ingredients
- 2 oz. Jack Daniels
- 4 oz. Diet Coke
Preparation
Put ice cubes in a glass. First pour in the whiskey, then the cola. If you'd like, you can add a lemon wedge which will only give you two additional calories if you consume it.
6. Low-Calorie Cosmopolitan
The cosmopolitan was derived from a sour-tasting drink called the Daisy which originated in the 1880s. The cocktail gained wide popularity from the TV series Sex and the City.
Depending on which recipe you use, a classic cosmopolitan can contain anywhere from about 167 calories to over 300. The biggest reason for the high calorie count is the triple sec. By eliminating the triple sec and using diet cranberry juice, your calorie count comes way down.
Ingredients
- 1 shot vodka
- 2 tbsp. Ocean Spray Diet Cranberry Juice Drink
- 1 tbsp. orange extract
- 1 1/2 tsp. lime juice
Preparation
Unlike many cocktails that call for ice, you will not be putting ice cubes in your glass. Instead, put some ice cubes in a shaker and add all of the above ingredients, then shake until cold. Using a strainer, pour the drink into a chilled glass.
Notes
The vodka in the drink has 97 calories while the rest of the ingredients only have about two, making this cocktail only about 100 calories.
7. Sea Breeze Drink
Mainly a summer drink, a Sea Breeze has a tart taste to it due to the juices in the recipe. Because of its bittersweet taste, I'm using grapefruit juice in this recipe that has natural sugar so there is a touch of sweetness to it, although you can substitute for a lower-calorie grapefruit juice.
With the vodka at 97 calories, the grapefruit juice at about 23, and around one for the cranberry juice, you can enjoy this drink for about 120 calories.
Ingredients
- 1 shot vodka
- 3 oz. Simply Grapefruit
- 1 1/2 oz. Ocean Spray Diet Cranberry Juice Drink
Preparation
Fill a glass with ice. Pour all three ingredients in and stir gently. A lime wedge is a pretty common garnish for this cocktail.
Old Fashioned
8. Bourbon Old Fashioned
One of the most common bar drinks, the old fashioned is the official cocktail of Louisville, Kentucky. In its original form, an old fashioned has about 150 calories, but you can lower those calories down to about 107 with the recipe below.
Besides being known for containing bourbon, the old fashioned also consists of Angostura bitters. These bitters were originally invented as a stomach ache cure and the combination of herbs and spices that go into a bottle is allegedly known by only a handful of people.
Ingredients
- 1 shot bourbon
- 1 tsp. club soda (or water)
- 3 dashes Angostura bitters
- 1 tsp. zero calorie simple sugar
- 1 orange peel
Preparation
Fill a glass halfway with ice cubes. Pour in the bourbon, then the rest of the ingredients except for the orange peel and stir. Take the orange peel, wipe it around the rim of the glass, then drop it into the drink.
Moscow mule in copper mug
Shelby L. Bell at Wikimedia through Creative Commons licensing
9. Moscow Mule Drink
While most cocktails are served in glasses, the Moscow mule is typically served in a copper mug to help keep the drink cold. In the classic version of this drink, one of the ingredients is ginger beer, but to keep the calories low, this version uses zero-sugar ginger ale. Between the bourbon and the lime juice, you can savor this drink for about 100 calories.
Ingredients
- 1 shot bourbon
- 4 oz. Canada Dry Zero Sugar Ginger Ale
- 1 Tbsp. lime juice
Preparation
Place ice cubes in the glass, then pour all of the ingredients in and stir.
10. Two-Ingredient Screwdriver
The invention of the screwdriver is a pretty interesting story. During the mid-20th century there were American oil workers working in the Persian Gulf. They loved their orange juice, but they loved it even more with vodka. They didn't have any spoons to mix their drinks so they used their screwdrivers instead and hence the name was born.
Ingredients
- 1 shot vodka
- 5 oz. Simply Light orange juice
Preparation
Pour vodka and orange into a glass with ice and mix. If you would like to add a small garnish, a maraschino cherry would give you an extra bit of sweetness.
Notes
Between the vodka and the low-calorie orange juice, your total calories for this drink would be about 128. If you add the maraschino cherry, add eight calories.
11. No Added Sugar Tom Collins
Sipping a Tom Collins is like sipping on a refreshing lemonade with a kick. It has the tartness and sweetness of lemonade, with the extra flavor of gin. The gin used in this cocktail contains 100 calories, but the remaining ingredients only have six.
A classic Tom Collins is made with simple syrup which is a mixture of sugar and water in liquid form and can be found in a lot of cocktails. For this recipe, sugar-free simple syrup is substituted which is made with artificial sweetener and doesn't contain any calories.
Ingredients
- 1 shot gin
- 3 oz. club soda
- 1/2 oz. sugar-free simple syrup
- 1 oz. fresh lemon juice
Preparation
Pour ice into a glass. Add the gin, simple syrup, and lemon juice and stir. Pour the club soda on top.
12. Wine Spritzer
The lowest calorie cocktail on this list, a wine spritzer, is a light, refreshing cocktail that is low in calories and alcohol content. Calories from the wine range from 69-72 depending if you use red or white. These are the only calories for this drink unless you want to add some fruit garnish which would raise the calorie count a bit higher.
There are a lot of garnishes that would go nicely with this drink including lemon or lime wedges, fresh strawberries, or fresh blueberries.
Ingredients
- 3 oz. white or red wine
- 1 oz. club soda
Preparation
Pour the wine into a chilled glass, then add the club soda and stir. If you choose to use garnish, add the garnish and you're all set to go!
Watching Cocktail Calories
As you can see, there are ways to cut the sugar, thus cutting the calories in cocktails, so you can relax and enjoy one without worrying about your calorie count going up too much. Besides the ones listed here, there are many more drinks you can tweak to make them healthier to drink. Here's hoping you can enjoy your favorite cocktail soon. Cheers!
Sources and Further Reading
- What Are Angostura Bitters? - Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Angostura Bitters
- The History of Louisville Old Fashioned - LOUtoday
- The History of the Screwdriver Cocktail
- Jack Daniel & Whiskey University
- 9 Healthy Reasons You Should Be Drinking Bourbon - Bogue Sound Distillery
- 7 reasons why drinking champagne is scientifically good for you | London Evening Standard | Evening
- 8 powerful benefits of mint leaves you can’t ignore | HealthShots
- A Brief History of Gin and Tonic
- Is Tomato Juice Good for You? Benefits and Downsides
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.
© 2023 Janis Masyk-Jackson
