Low Carb Alcoholic Drinks

Many of us enjoy a drink or two, every now and again, with a friend, at a party, with dinner, or just to sit down an unwind. For those of us watching are carbohydrate intake, don't overlook the carbs in alcohol. Some drinks have a whole lot more carbs than others.

For example, mixers often have a lot of sugar. The mix for daiquiris and margaritas can contain 17 grams of carbohydrates, and that is using only 1/4 cup of mix. Now distilled spirits such as whiskey, rum, vodka and others, have zero carbohydrates.

As for beer, all light beers are low carb, as well as low in calories. most light beers contain 3 to 7 grams of carbohydrates while regular beer is right around 12 grams. Most Ales are between 5 and 9 grams while stout can reach 20 grams of carbohydrates per 12 ounce serving.

Wine is another drink that is low in carbs. For a 5 ounce serving of a red wine such as Pinot Noir or Syrah, you would be looking at 3.5 to 4 grams of carbohydrates. Zinfindale would be right around 4.2 grams, white wines like Chardonnay are at 3 grams, while dessert wines do get up to 12 or 14 grams of carbohydrates a serving.

As mentioned before, the no carb drinks would include your straight alcohols such as brandy, gin, vodka, whiskey, bourbon, rum and tequila to list the favorites.

The drinks were you are going to find some carbs are again in your mixed drinks. This depends greatly on what you mix your alcohol with. Look for low carb alternatives to fruit juice and use diet soda.

A lot of liqueurs have a rather high amount of carbohydrates. For a jigger (1.5 fl. oz.), of B & B Benedictine, Kirsch, Bailey's Irish Cream or Campari you are looking at between 8 to 12 grams of carbs. Ouzo, triple Sec and Creme de Cassis have between 16 and 17 grams, while a coffee liqueur such as Kahlua has 24 grams. Amaretto tops it off with a whopping 25 grams of carbohydrates per jigger.

Low Carb Drink Recipes

Margaritas

Wet the rim of your glass and dip into Margarita salt. Combine 1 jigger of tequila, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 teaspoon orange extract, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 1 tablespoon artificial sweetener and a small handful of ice. You can either have it all blended together or served over the ice.

Long Island Iced Tea

Put into a shaker 1/4 ounce tequila, 1/4 ounce gin, 1/4 ounce rum, 1/4 ounce vodka, 1/4 ounce triple sec, 1 ounce sugar free sour mix and a dash of diet coke. Shake briefly and serve with lots of ice in a tall glass.

White Russian

In a Mixing bowl pour in 1/4 cup of strong brewed coffee. Blend in 1/4 cup Splenda or other sugar alternative and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Cool in the freezer for a few minutes. Mix in 4 ounces of vodka, 4 ounces of brandy and 1/4 cup low carb milk. Serve and enjoy.

Sources:

lowcarbdiets.about.com

bajabob.com

bellaonline.com