There are many occasions where you might want to partake in a festive alcoholic drink – happy hour, sports events, wine tasting, holidays, and especially during the summer when you can enjoy the weather and a nice frosty beverage. Whether you are sipping a piña colada poolside or sampling a nice crisp rosé, these drinks have a wide range of calories and what may not seem like much with one drink, can easily turn into a calorie bomb with much more.
What increases the calorie count of many drinks, especially a mixed one, are the syrups, juices, and sodas that are added. Most people are often unaware of how much of these ingredients are actually in their cocktails. Alcohol is a leading cause of excess calories and can not only lead to an increase in weight but also interfere with the body’s fat-burning functions.
The body is supplied with very little nutrients from alcohol. The calories from alcohol are the first to be burned by the body, delaying the fat-burning process, which comes after the body has burnt carbs and proteins for energy. This contributes to extra fat storage. Still, there are ways to make sure happy hour doesn’t have to be disastrous for a person’s diet.
To compile a list of alcoholic drinks with the least calories, 24/7 Tempo first compiled a list of nearly 50 popular cocktails. Since the standard size of each cocktail varies, we ranked the cocktails based on their calorie-per-ounce ratio. We only included drinks with fewer than 50 calories per ounce. To compare, alcohol often used in mixed drinks such as vodka, tequila, or gin, has about 65-75 calories per ounce, neat, on average. We calculated how many minutes it takes to burn off the calories consumed in each cocktail using the Omni calculator with values based on a person weighing 150 lbs. Heavier people may burn off calories in less time because it takes them more energy to perform a certain activity.
Knowing how many calories a person is consuming is key to preventing weight gain and the possible negative health outcomes that come with it. But exercising and burning off energy is also important to maintaining a healthy weight or losing a few extra pounds. Here is how long you need to exercise to burn off the calories from your favorite foods.
Here are the alcoholic drinks with the least calories
28. Long Island Iced Tea
- Calories per ounce: 48.4
- Total calories in Long Island Iced Tea: 218 in 4.5 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 48 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Vodka, tequila, light rum, gin, Coca-Cola
27. Margarita
- Calories per ounce: 42.0
- Total calories in Margarita: 168 in 4 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 37 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice
26. Whiskey sour
- Calories per ounce: 41.7
- Total calories in Whiskey sour: 125 in 3 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 27 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Bourbon, simple syrup, lemon juice (foamer)
25. Green apple martini
- Calories per ounce: 37.0
- Total calories in Green apple martini: 148 in 4 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 32 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Vodka, sour apple liqueur, lemon juice
24. Mint Julep
- Calories per ounce: 36.7
- Total calories in Mint Julep: 165 in 4.5 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 36 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Bourbon, syrup, mint leaves, seltzer water
23. Hot buttered rum
- Calories per ounce: 36.5
- Total calories in Hot buttered rum: 292 in 8 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 64 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Spiced rum, brown sugar, cinnamon stick
22. Sex on the Beach
- Calories per ounce: 35.8
- Total calories in Sex on the Beach: 179 in 5 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 39 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Vodka, peach schnapps, orange juice, cranberry juice
21. Tequila sunrise
- Calories per ounce: 34.1
- Total calories in Tequila sunrise: 232 in 6.8 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 51 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Tequila, orange juice, grenadine syrup
20. Dark N’ Stormy
- Calories per ounce: 31.3
- Total calories in Dark N’ Stormy: 172 in 5.5 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 38 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Ginger beer, dark rum, lime juice
19. Manhattan
- Calories per ounce: 29.4
- Total calories in Manhattan: 206 in 7 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 45 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Rye whiskey, vermouth, sour cherries, angostura
18. Screwdriver
- Calories per ounce: 29.0
- Total calories in Screwdriver: 145 in 5 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 32 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Orange juice, vodka
17. Moscow Mule
- Calories per ounce: 28.3
- Total calories in Moscow Mule: 212 in 7.5 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 46 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Vodka, lime juice, ginger beer
16. Gin & Tonic
- Calories per ounce: 27.5
- Total calories in Gin & Tonic: 151 in 5.5 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 33 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Tonic, gin, lime juice
15. Vodka and tonic
- Calories per ounce: 27.0
- Total calories in Vodka and tonic: 189 in 7 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 41 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Tonic, vodka, lime juice
14. Old-fashioned
- Calories per ounce: 26.2
- Total calories in Old-fashioned: 118 in 4.5 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 26 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Bourbon, sugar cube, orange twist
13. Bloody Mary
- Calories per ounce: 26.1
- Total calories in Bloody Mary: 120 in 4.6 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 26 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Spicy tomato juice, vodka, green olives, lime
12. Cuba Libre
- Calories per ounce: 25.3
- Total calories in Cuba Libre: 190 in 7.5 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 41 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Coca-Cola, rum, lime
11. Whiskey ginger
- Calories per ounce: 24.0
- Total calories in Whiskey ginger: 151 in 6.3 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 33 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Irish whiskey, ale, lime
10. Mojito
- Calories per ounce: 23.8
- Total calories in Mojito: 143 in 6 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 31 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Club soda, lime, white rum, mint leaves
9. Paloma
- Calories per ounce: 23.7
- Total calories in Paloma: 166 in 7 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 36 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Tequila, grapefruit juice, sparkling water, lime juice
8. Rum and Coke
- Calories per ounce: 23.1
- Total calories in Rum and Coke: 185 in 8 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 40 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Light or dark rum, regular Coca-Cola
7. Vodka & Red Bull
- Calories per ounce: 20.6
- Total calories in Vodka & Red Bull: 206 in 10 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 45 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Red Bull energy drink, vodka
6. Vodka soda
- Calories per ounce: 19.2
- Total calories in Vodka soda: 96 in 5 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 21 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Club soda, vodka, lemon
5. Spiced cider with rum
- Calories per ounce: 18.8
- Total calories in Spiced cider with rum: 150 in 8 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 33 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Apple cider, brown sugar, dark rum
4. Mimosa
- Calories per ounce: 18.8
- Total calories in Mimosa: 75 in 4 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 16 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Champagne, orange juice
3. Scotch & Soda
- Calories per ounce: 18.3
- Total calories in Scotch & Soda: 128 in 7 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 28 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Club soda, scotch whiskey
2. Highball
- Calories per ounce: 13.8
- Total calories in Highball: 110 in 8 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 24 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Whiskey, ginger ale, club soda
1. Rum and Diet Coke
- Calories per ounce: 12.5
- Total calories in Rum and Diet Coke: 100 in 8 oz.
- Time needed to burn off the calories: 22 mins of walking
- Main ingredients: Light or dark rum, diet Coca-Cola