Drink Smart: Know Which Alcohol Has the Fewest Calories

Drink Smart: Know Which Alcohol Has the Fewest Calories
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Alcohol can be fun, but counting up calories the next day won’t be. Knowing which alcohol has the fewest calories (as well as how to avoid some common calorie mistakes) can make your night out all the more successful. Here’s what you need to know, and drink, to make the smartest choices next time you’re out on the town.

Calorie Breakdown by Ounce

If you’re measuring ounce for ounce, beer and wine are the lowest-calorie alcohols:

  • Domestic beer = 12 calories per ounce
  • Wine (both red and white) = 23 calories per ounce
  • Liquor (80 proof) = 65 calories per ounce

If you move up to micro-brews, the beer’s per-ounce calorie count gets higher: the darker the beer, the more calories (but the alcohol count usually remains the same). The same thing happens if you move to higher proof alcohol: 90 proof liquor has 74 calories per ounce.

Calorie Breakdown by Drink

But, ounce-per-ounce isn’t the whole story. Who drinks just one ounce of beer? Here’s your average calorie count for each of those alcohol types, per the legal definition of 1 drink:

  • Domestic beer: 12 ounces = 144 calories per drink
  • Wine: 5 ounces = 115 calories per drink
  • Liquor: 1.5 ounces = 97.5 calories per drink (BEFORE MIXER)

That’s where many people go wrong. They see how much lower the calories are in hard liquor, then mix it with a cola or juice, adding anywhere from 65 to 100 additional calories. So, the calorie total on a mixed drink can be as high as 100 calories per drink.

Low Calorie Mixers

If you want mixed drinks without the calorie-fest, just knowing what to order makes all the difference in the world. (Hint: a mint chocolate martini is not the way to go.) Recommended low-calorie mixers include:

  • Diet soda (most contain 0 calories)
  • Club soda
  • Sparkling water (add a splash of juice for fruity flavor without the whole glass of juice)

Best Bet: Go Light

In each category (beer, wine, liquor), the lighter the better. If you want beer, stick with a light beer (both in color and name). For wine, consider diluting your wine with a sparkling water. It’s just as refreshing, and the half-and-half approach not only saves you calories, but keeps your alcohol consumption in check. And for hard alcohol, the low-calorie mixers mentioned above are a good way to go. Or, alternate alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. A sparkling water with lime in between cokctails, for example, keeps your alcohol consumption in check and gives you a calorie-free (yet snazzy looking) beverage that you can feel good about.

If you like your drinks “the way they’re meant to be,” then knowing which alcohol has the fewest calories per drink (wine) helps you make the smart choice without having to order anything too fancy.

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