The ketogenic (keto) diet, characterized by its low carbohydrate and high-fat composition, has gained immense popularity for weight loss and health improvement. This dietary approach necessitates careful meal planning to adhere to daily carbohydrate restrictions and sustain ketosis. Many individuals find it challenging to maintain a social life while on a ketogenic diet due to the pervasiveness of carbohydrates, particularly in alcoholic beverages. Cutting out beer and wine is a great start, but sticking with hard liquor is usually the best choice. But don't worry, there are a handful of low-carb and keto alcohol options! So, can you enjoy bourbon while following a keto diet? The answer is yes!
Bourbon and the Keto Diet: The Basics
Bourbon is indeed considered keto-friendly. The reason for this lies in its nutritional content. Bourbon contains 0.0 g of net carbs per standard serving size, which is one shot or 42g. This makes it a suitable option even for those adhering to a strict ketogenic diet, which typically limits daily carb intake to less than 20g. Moreover, for those who are following a more lenient low-carb diet, often limiting their daily carb intake to 30-50g of net carbs, Bourbon can again easily be included.
Nutritional Profile of Bourbon
A 42g serving of Bourbon, approximately one shot, carries a distinct nutritional profile. Specifically, each serving contains roughly 97.02 kcal. Bourbon is low in sodium, with a modest 0.42mg per serving. As for micronutrients, this spirit doesn't offer much. There are negligible traces of vitamins and minerals, making Bourbon not a significant source of these nutrients. On a unique note, Bourbon stands out for its polyphenolic compounds.
Here's a detailed breakdown of the nutritional content per 1 shot (42g) of Bourbon:
- Net Carbs: 0.0g
- Energy: 97.02kcal
- Alcohol, ethyl: 14.028g
- Water: 27.972g
- Iron, Fe: 0.0168mg
- Phosphorus, P: 1.68mg
- Potassium, K: 0.84mg
- Sodium, Na: 0.42mg
- Zinc, Zn: 0.0168mg
- Copper, Cu: 0.0088mg
- Thiamin: 0.0025mg
- Riboflavin: 0.0017mg
- Niacin: 0.0055mg
- Vitamin B-6: 0.0004mg
Nutritional data is sourced from the US Department of Agriculture's FoodData Central system.
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How Bourbon Fits into a Keto Lifestyle
Due to its zero-carb content, Bourbon can be a great choice for a keto-friendly drink. Furthermore, Bourbon has a low glycemic index of 0. Bourbon can also be incorporated into various keto recipes.
Other Keto-Friendly Alcohol Options
Besides Bourbon, several other alcoholic beverages are low in carbs and suitable for a keto diet:
- Whiskey: Like Bourbon, whiskey is a distilled spirit that is also low in carbs, making it a suitable alternative for a keto diet.
- Vodka: Another viable option is vodka, which is also carbohydrate-free. If you must have flavored, there are a number of them that are zero carbs, but do your research online first! Note: Absolut and Ciroc both cite that their flavored vodka does not contain carbs.
- Rum: Rum is another distilled spirit with zero carbs, making it a good alternative to Bourbon. It’s also zero carbs and zero sugar, but you need to watch out for flavored rums and rums with additives. Normally, the darker the rum the richer the flavor is, and the older it is. When rum is first distilled, it comes out as a clear liquid. It’s then normally placed in bourbon barrels to pick up the oaky flavor and dark color that you’re used to seeing.
- Gin: Gin is made from a grain base and typically runs about 35% alcohol by volume. Sloe gin is a common flavored gin that’s made in England and flavored with sloe drupes. These have added sugars, and therefore added carbs in them.
- Tequila: Most tequila is made from the agave plant and is commonly made at 40% alcohol per volume. There are not too many flavored tequilas on the market, so you don’t have to worry too much about added sugars or carbs. Note that some tequila producers do mix their tequila with other alcohols. The agave plant is grown in many places, but depending on where it is grown will affect how the tequila tastes.
- Dry Wines: Unsweetened/unflavored champagne, dry red wine, and dry white wine. Red wine typically has the lowest carb count of any wines as well. There are many, many brands of wine available. Since there is no standard on nutrition information and alcohol, you may want to consider picking a generic branded wine or trying to research the nutritional information online.
- Light Beer: Bud Select, Miller 64, Michelob Ultra.
Mixers to Consider and to Avoid
Looking for a chaser to go with your drink? Most people tend to want something to chase or mix their alcohol with to make it go down easier. Keto-friendly mixers are just as important as the alcohol itself. Watch for common mixers like regular soda, juice, sweeteners, and energy drinks. They can quickly turn a carb-free drink into a high calorie carb bomb.
Here are some keto-friendly mixers:
- Sparkling water
- Diet carbonized water
- Diet soda
- Sugar-free energy drinks
- Water enhancers
- Bitters
Note: Be careful what sweeteners are used in your mixers as some sweeteners do spike blood sugars.
Read also: Delicious Keto Chicken Recipe
Avoid these high-carb mixers:
- Fruit Juice: It’s very common for bartenders to make drinks with cranberry, orange, pineapple, tomato, and melon juices.
- Syrups: Similar to the syrups at coffee shops, these are typically made with a lot of sugar content in them.
- Fruit toppings: Many drinks are topped with berries or have wedges of orange or pineapple in them.
- Sangria/Margarita Mix: Typically sangria mixes and margarita mixes have over 10g carbs per 1.5 oz serving (a shot worth).
- Wine Coolers/Alcopops: The most common of these are Smirnoff ice - they’re essentially sugar-laden soda with alcohol in them.
- Liqueurs: Usually a combination of alcohol and a simple syrup (made from sugar), these are extremely high in carbohydrates.
Potential Downsides of Alcohol Consumption on Keto
While you can consume low-carb alcohol and stay in ketosis, the ethyl will be burned by the body in preference of all other nutrients consumed. Besides this, alcohol does have an effect on hormone levels that are linked to belly fat and weight loss - so if you’re a heavy drinker, you can expect very slow or no weight loss at all. There is also a condition called alcohol ketoacidosis which can be deadly. It usually happens to people who haven’t eaten any food in a long period of time, and are drinking large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time.
Alcohol shouldn’t be consumed heavily or on a consistent basis. Calories. Alcohol still counts as calories and will slow fat loss down. Tolerance. Most people on a ketogenic or low-carb diet experience a much lower tolerance to alcohol than usual. Hunger. Dehydration. Since keto is a natural diuretic, you have to be watchful of how much water you’re drinking alongside the alcohol. Added sugars. Mixers, liqueurs, and many alcohols will contain some type of flavoring or added sugar.
Moderation is Key
Despite Bourbon being keto-friendly, it's important to practice portion control. Even low carb varieties of alcohol can contribute to weight gain, nutritional deficiencies, and serious health conditions. This is why it’s important to moderate your intake. Even on a keto diet, there are plenty of low carb alcoholic beverages to choose from.
The views expressed at, or through, Cast Iron Keto are for informational purposes only. Cast Iron Keto cannot guarantee the validity of the information found here. While we use reasonable efforts to include accurate and up-to-date information, we make no warranties as to the accuracy of the content and assume no liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the content. This information does not replace written law or regulations, nor does it replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
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Some Bourbon Recommendations
Still, if you’re trying to lose weight or improve your health, limiting your alcohol consumption is probably a smart move. But if you do choose to drink alcohol, we’re big proponents of the “drink less but drink better” approach to moderation. If you only get a few drinks a week, why waste your allowance on light beer? In that spirit, here are a handful of our favorite bourbons, plus a rye single cask we’re particularly excited about.
- Barrell Private Release Bourbon A01A: This blend of straight bourbon whiskeys from Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana contains a selection of 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, and 15-year-old barrels. Bottled at 115.7 proof, it has a distinctively rich, lucious cherry flavor that earned it a Double Gold at the 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. A few drops of water bring out ripe pineapple and melon, plus sweet honey and pastry cream-all flavors you’ll probably be missing if you’re on the keto diet for long.
- Barrell Private Release Bourbon A39A: A mix of five, nine, 13, and 15-year-old bourbons, it’s a beautiful fusion of maturity and youth, with opulent notes of honey, cinnamon pastry, and oak.
- Barrell Armida: Made from a selection of straight bourbons finished in pear brandy, Sicilian amaro, and Jamaican rum casks, Armida is an explosion of fresh fruits-think pear, blackberry, and lime-rounded out with rich caramel and honey and a gentle hint of bitter herbs.
- Cask Strength Rye Single Barrel: We loved this barrel for its herbaceous nose, oaky palate, and remarkably honeyed finish-just the thing for when you’re craving a little sweetness, sans carbohydrates.