The ketogenic (keto) diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet adopted by many to lose weight and improve their health. Sticking to a daily carb allotment and keeping your body in ketosis often requires careful meal planning. This may mean giving up sweets, snacks, and other high-carb indulgences like soft drinks and alcohol. However, there are plenty of low-carb alcoholic beverages that you can enjoy in moderation - even on a keto diet. For instance, pure forms of alcohol like whiskey, gin, tequila, rum, and vodka are all completely free of carbs.
Understanding the Keto Diet and Alcohol
One of the common misconceptions about the keto diet is that you can’t have any alcohol on keto. Fortunately, that’s not true! When consumed in moderation, alcohol can be enjoyed as part of your keto lifestyle. Just remember to plan and factor in your net carbs with your daily totals before the party starts. Keep in mind that while many of these choices are low in carbs, alcohol still provides calories and the body needs to burn off those alcohol calories before it can get back into fat-burning mode. If you notice that your weight-loss has stalled, you may need to cut back on alcohol.
Keto-Friendly Alcoholic Beverages
While following a keto diet, you may be able to enjoy alcoholic drinks that are low in carbs, like hard liquor and light beer. This article suggests the best and worst alcoholic drinks to choose while on the keto diet.
Here’s how the top keto-friendly drinks stack up:
- Pure Spirits: Hard alcohol like vodka, rum, tequila, whiskey, and gin all contain zero carbs and are the most keto-friendly alcohol choice.
- Some Wines: Not all wines are ideal keto alcohol drinks; depending on the type, carbs range from 0-4 grams a glass. Look for dry varieties-like brut champagne for sparkling; Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio for white; and Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot for red-to stay on the lower end of the spectrum. Additionally, a higher alcohol content in the wine also indicates that it will have fewer carbs. Stick with wines that are greater than 12% alcohol.
- Hard seltzer: White Claw started the hard seltzer craze with their 2g carb per can beverages, plus more options like Truly and Bon & Viv make it easy to find your favorite.
The Vodka Soda: A Keto Staple
The classic vodka soda is one of the favorite ways to enjoy alcohol on and off keto, and thankfully this refreshing drink fits perfectly into a keto diet.
Read also: Understanding Vodka Tonic Calories
Keto-Friendly Mixers
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. Instead, opt for low-carb mixers like diet soda, seltzer, diet tonic water, and powdered flavor packets. These mixers can keep your carb intake low while boosting your beverage’s taste.
Here’s the carb content of a few keto-friendly mixers:
Low carb mixers like diet soda, carbonated water, and powdered flavor packets can help keep the carb content of your drink to a minimum.
Alcoholic Beverages to Avoid on Keto
Many alcoholic beverages are loaded with carbs, with some varieties packing over 30 g in a single serving. For example, cocktails and mixed drinks usually rely on high-carb, sugary ingredients like soda, juice, sweeteners, or syrups. Meanwhile, regular beer is produced from starch and can contain upward of 12 g of carbs in just 1 can. Also, keep in mind that the drinks you might get at a bar or restaurant may be much larger than the recommended serving sizes above.
Here’s a comparison of the carb content of several popular alcoholic beverages. Avoid them if you’re on a keto diet:
Read also: Is Vodka Diet Coke Healthy?
- Beer: At an average of 17g carbs per serving, there’s a reason beer is sometimes called liquid bread! If you simply must have beer, look for the lightest beers, which can be as low as 2g of carb per serving. But still, beer should be consumed sparingly.
- Some wines: As above, some wines are more keto friendly than others. In general, sweeter varieties of wines like Moscato and Riesling will have a greater carb count. Also, avoid dessert wines like ports and sherries, as these contain quite a few more carbs.
- Wine coolers & malt beverages: While these colorful, fruity beverages can have a lower ABV per serving, they’re loaded with sugar and a super-high carb count.
Crafting Keto-Friendly Cocktails
Knowing that most pure spirits, or “hard alcohol,” can fit into your low-carb lifestyle is the first half of the battle. If you prefer a mixed drink, you’ll have to be sure to choose your mixers carefully to avoid sugary juices, sodas, and store-bought cocktail mixes. For example, if you’re a fan of tonic water, make sure to choose diet tonic, as regular tonic water has upwards of 25 grams of sugar per serving. You could also choose to drink your keto-friendly alcoholic straight or on the rocks to keep things simple and free from additional carbs.
Keto Cocktail Ideas
Here are a few keto alcohol drinks ideas to get you started:
- Vodka Soda: This cocktail is the king of keto vodka drinks, made simply with vodka, club soda, and a lemon or lime wedge. Easy, refreshing, and zero carbs; what’s not to love?
- Old Fashioned: Traditionally made with whiskey, a dash of orange bitters, and a sugar cube, this cocktail can be made even lower carb with your favorite low carb sweetener.
- Sangria: Depending on the keto-friendly fruit involved, a red or white sangria can be a refreshing, low carb beverage to enjoy on a patio or porch.
- Dry Martini: Instead, try a dry martini (you like ’em dirty - no problem, there’s no carbs in olive juice).
- Ranch Water: For the classic take, pop open a chilled bottle of Topo Chico sparkling mineral water and drink a few ounces. Pour an ounce and a half of blanco tequila into the bottle, then add a squeeze of fresh lime juice. It’s easy to create variations on this tequila soda cocktail. Use a reposado tequila for more flavor, or try a different sparkling water.
- Mojito: If you enjoy unsweetened drinks like a Vodka Soda or Ranch Water, you can also experiment with making or ordering a Mojito without the simple syrup at all.
Modifying Classic Cocktails for Keto
Let’s start with the list of easy-to-modify drinks that swap a traditional mixer for a lower carb one.
- Rum and Cola: Combine 2 ounces of white rum with a ½ ounce of fresh lime juice in a tall glass filled with ice. Top with a chilled low carb cola such as Poppi or Zevia. Garnish with a lime wedge.
- Gin Buck, Whiskey Buck, or Mexican Mule: This simple classic combines 2 ounces of liquor with a squeeze of lime juice before being topped off with chilled low calorie / light / diet ginger beer or ginger ale. Make sure to use plenty of ice.
- Gin and Tonic and Vodka and Tonic: Pretty self-explanatory.
- Paloma: The basic Paloma is a combination of 2 ounces of tequila or mezcal with grapefruit soda and squeeze of lime. Build the drink in a tall glass filled with ice, and salt the rim if you like. Fever-Tree’s Sparkling Pink Grapefruit is the top choice here.
Keto Cocktail Recipes
- Mojito: Add the syrup and mint leaves to a highball glass and gently muddle. Pour the rum and lime juice into the glass and top the mixture with ice. Note: You can add more allulose if you prefer a sweeter syrup.
- Gimlet: Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and fill it ¾ with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain the liquid into a cocktail glass.
- Tom Collins: Combine the liquor, citrus, and syrup in a cocktail shaker and fill it ¾ with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain the liquid into a highball glass filled with ice.
- Old Fashioned: Stir all ingredients with plenty of ice, then strain into a rocks glass filled with ice (or over one large cube).
- Margarita: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and fill it ¾ with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain the liquid into a rocks glass filled with ice. Muddle a slice or two of jalapeno with the lime juice in your cocktail shaker. Then add the remaining ingredients and ice and shake until chilled.
- Paloma (Fresh Juice Method): Combine the first four ingredients in a cocktail shaker and fill it ¾ with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain the liquid into a highball glass filled with ice.
- Sangria: The first step is to choose the lowest carb wine as your base. The fruit will add a bit of flavor, but not a lot of carbs or sugar since we’re not muddling. Combine the syrup, juices, and fruit in a large pitcher. Carefully pour the sparkling wine into the pitcher, then stir gently. Fill the pitcher with ice and serve immediately. Top each glass with a splash of chilled club soda.
- Espressotini: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Keto Simple Syrup
Simple syrup is a mix of equal parts sugar and water. To make a keto-friendly simple syrup, we need to swap out the sugar for a quality sugar substitute. Erythritol is a great sweetener but unfortunately, it has a habit of forming crunchy crystals as it cools down. So my choice for a no carb simple syrup is allulose powder. The only problem with allulose is that it’s only 70% as sweet as sugar. A good place to start is to use 1.5 parts allulose powder to 1 part water. Store in a closed container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Instructions: Boil water. Add stevia and continue to boil until all the stevia has dissolved. Note: You can add more allulose if you prefer a sweeter syrup.
Read also: Mixing Vodka and Diet Coke
Low-Carb Drink Mixers
There are some great low or lower-carb drink mixers available at the grocery store these days. The Fever-Tree Refreshingly Light Tonic Water has 7.6 grams of carbs per serving, which is less than half the carbs of their classic Indian Tonic Water. Fever-Tree also makes a wonderful Sparkling Pink Grapefruit that’s perfect for Palomas. This mixer has 7 grams of carbs per bottle. A lower-carb ginger option that’s perfect for mixing is Poppi Ginger Lime. This stevia and cane sugar-sweetened soda has just 4 grams of carbs per can (so just 2 grams per cocktail using 6 oz). All of the Poppi flavors are great for mixing. An interesting note about Poppi is that it is marketed as a functional beverage. If you want a ginger option that’s zero carbs, go with the Zevia Ginger Ale. Zevia sodas are great no carb options for cola, cherry cola, ginger ale, root beer, and lemon-lime sodas. They can feel a tad too sweet, however, because of the stevia.
Ready-to-Drink (RTD) Keto Options
With only 18 grams of carbs available for the whole day, no way was anyone going to use any carbs unnecessarily on drinks.
- Canteen Vodka Sodas: Super carbonated, lightly sweetened canned vodka sodas. A huge plus for Canteen is that it is zero carbs yet also 5% ABV.
- Cutwater Vodka Sodas: Perfection. Add a little squeeze of lemon or lime. Pure refreshment and a top-tier keto pick at 0 grams of carbs and 5% ABV.
- Mich Ultra Signature Collection: Light, not too sweet, and having absolutely no strange aftertaste. The Grapefruit Melon and the Strawberry Watermelon are top picks from this pack.
- Cantina Tequila Sodas: Another 0 carb, 5% ABV ready to drink worth their salt (hehe). You can definitely taste the tequila and all of the flavors are great. The only issue is that the sweetness can be a bit cloying. No worries though - just add a squeeze of lime, or pour the liquid over ice. A little dilution can work wonders if you're sensitive to sweet.
- Smirnoff ICE Zero Sugar Red, White and Berry: With only 1 gram of carbs and 4.5% ABV, it’s a solid keto pick. What’s more, the berry flavor is nice and fairly mild. There’s no bad aftertaste, it’s not overly sweet, and it has plenty of bubbles.
- VIZZY Hard Seltzer: VIZZY’s seltzers range from 1-3 grams of carbs per can and they’re sweetened with stevia. VIZZY takes home the award for having the most flavor options - and also the most unique flavors! Raspberry Tangerine, Watermelon Lemonade, yum.
Moderation is Key
Although plenty of low-carb, keto-friendly alcoholic beverages are available, that doesn’t mean they should become a regular part of your routine.
Even low-carb varieties of alcohol are still rich in “empty” calories. They supply many calories with little to no essential nutrients like protein, fiber, vitamins, or minerals. Not only can overindulging in alcohol increase your risk of nutritional deficiencies over time, but it may also contribute to gradual weight gain. Alcohol can also suppress fat burning and increase body fat by causing your body to store extra calories as fat tissue.
Excessive drinking may also contribute to other serious health conditions, including liver problems, cancer, and heart disease. For this reason, it’s best to keep alcohol intake moderate - defined as one drink per day for women and two per day for men.