SpiritFacts

Lowest calorie alcohol

Alcohol itself carries 7 calories per gram, and a US standard drink holds 14 grams of it, so every standard drink starts at about 98 calories before any sugar or carbohydrate is added. The lowest-calorie drinks are the ones that add the least on top of that: unflavoured spirits with a zero-calorie mixer, light beer, and hard seltzer.

The short answer

An unflavoured spirit with a zero-calorie mixer: about 98 calories per standard drink, all of it alcohol. The lowest beers and cans per serving are Nutrl Vodka Seltzer (88), Corona Premier (89), Loverboy Sparkling Hard Tea (90), Busch Light (93) calories, but they carry carbohydrate on top of their alcohol, so Corona Premier works out to 111 per standard drink. Mixers decide the rest: soda water adds nothing, regular tonic and juice add sugar.

Calories by type of drink

Median calories per standard drink of alcohol, lowest first, with the range per serving.

TypePer servingPer std drink

Lowest calorie beer

#DrinkPer servingPer std drink
  1. 1 Corona Premier Beer · 4% · 12oz can · 2.6g carbs 89 111
  2. 2 Busch Light Beer · 4.1% · 12oz can · 3.2g carbs 93 113
  3. 3 Michelob Ultra Beer · 4.2% · 12oz can · 2.6g carbs 93 110
  4. 4 Miller Lite Beer · 4.2% · 12oz can · 3.2g carbs 95 113
  5. 5 Natural Light Beer · 4.2% · 12oz can · 3.2g carbs 95 113
Full ranking →

Lowest calorie hard seltzer and cans

#DrinkPer servingPer std drink
  1. 1 Nutrl Vodka Seltzer Hard Seltzer & RTD · 4.5% · 12oz can 88 98
  2. 2 Loverboy Sparkling Hard Tea Hard Seltzer & RTD · 4.2% · 12oz can · 2g carbs 90 107
  3. 3 High Noon Vodka Seltzer Hard Seltzer & RTD · 4.5% · 12oz can · 2g carbs 96 107
  4. 4 Sun Cruiser Iced Tea & Vodka Hard Seltzer & RTD · 4.5% · 12oz can · 2g carbs 96 107
  5. 5 Surfside Iced Tea + Vodka Hard Seltzer & RTD · 4.5% · 12oz can · 2g carbs 96 107
Full ranking →

Lowest calorie liquor

#DrinkPer servingPer std drink
  1. 1 Absolut Vodka · 40% · 1.5oz shot 98 98
  2. 2 Basil Hayden's Bourbon · 40% · 1.5oz shot 98 98
  3. 3 Beefeater Gin · 40% · 1.5oz shot 98 98
  4. 4 Belvedere Vodka · 40% · 1.5oz shot 98 98
  5. 5 Bombay Sapphire Gin · 40% · 1.5oz shot 98 98
Full ranking →

Lowest calorie wine

#DrinkPer servingPer std drink
  1. 1 Riesling White Wine · 11% · 5oz glass · 5.5g carbs · 568 per bottle 112 123
  2. 2 Pinot Grigio White Wine · 12.5% · 5oz glass · 3g carbs · 578 per bottle 114 109
  3. 3 Sauvignon Blanc White Wine · 13% · 5oz glass · 3g carbs · 598 per bottle 118 109
  4. 4 Pinot Noir Red Wine · 13% · 5oz glass · 3.4g carbs · 609 per bottle 120 111
  5. 5 Chardonnay White Wine · 13.5% · 5oz glass · 3.2g carbs · 624 per bottle 123 109
Full ranking →

Liqueurs: low per pour, high per drink

#DrinkPer servingPer std drink
  1. 1 Aperol Liqueur · 11% · 1.5oz shot · 11.1g carbs 71 255
  2. 2 Malibu Original Liqueur · 21% · 1.5oz shot · 7.5g carbs 81 153
  3. 3 Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur Liqueur · 16.5% · 1.5oz shot · 12.4g carbs 90 217
  4. 4 Frangelico Liqueur · 20% · 1.5oz shot · 11.2g carbs 94 188
  5. 5 Campari Liqueur · 25% · 1.5oz shot · 11.1g carbs 106 169

Calories per serving use a standard pour: 1.5oz for spirits and liqueurs, 12oz for beer and cans. Per standard drink scales each one to 14g of alcohol, the US standard drink, so a shot and a beer can be compared directly. Drinks whose producers publish no sugar or carbohydrate figure are not ranked.

FAQ

What alcohol has the least calories? ▾

An unflavoured spirit with a zero-calorie mixer: about 98 calories per standard drink, all of it alcohol. The lowest beers and cans per serving are Nutrl Vodka Seltzer (88), Corona Premier (89), Loverboy Sparkling Hard Tea (90), Busch Light (93) calories, but they carry carbohydrate on top of their alcohol, so Corona Premier works out to 111 per standard drink. Mixers decide the rest: soda water adds nothing, regular tonic and juice add sugar.

Is vodka or beer lower in calories? ▾

A 1.5oz shot of 80 proof vodka is about 98 calories. A 12oz light beer runs 89 to 109 here, and a full-strength beer like Budweiser is 140. Per unit of alcohol vodka is lower, because beer brings carbohydrate along with its alcohol.

Does alcohol have carbs? ▾

Distilled spirits have none unless sugar is added after distillation, which is why flavoured vodka, spiced rum and liqueurs are the exceptions. Beer keeps the starches yeast cannot ferment: 2.6g to 14g per 12oz among the beers here. Wine keeps residual sugar, which is low in dry styles.

Which drinks are highest in calories? ▾

Sweet liqueurs and sweet canned drinks. Among liqueurs, Licor 43 is 149 calories per 1.5oz, much of it sugar. High-proof whiskey adds up too: Booker's at 62.5% is 153 per shot, all of it alcohol.

How are these calories calculated? ▾

From each drink's ABV, at 7 calories per gram of alcohol, plus 4 calories per gram of the carbohydrate or sugar its producer publishes. Drinks without a published figure are left out rather than estimated. The results land within about 10% of the calorie counts brewers print on their labels.