7 Low-Calorie Alcoholic Drinks Perfect for Happy Hour

7 Low-Calorie Alcoholic Drinks Perfect for Happy Hour

The right beverage can make your next adventure even more exciting, but the last thing you want is to be weighed down by calories and carbs. When you’re ordering at a bar, it can feel like the only options on the menu are filled with exactly what your body doesn’t need.

It shouldn’t be difficult to find drinks with uplifting, natural ingredients that help you feel your best. That’s where Flying Embers comes in.

We discovered that even the lowest-calorie drinks can be delicious. A classic cocktail can be slightly modified to keep the taste you know and love — without all the added sugar. Our drinks keep the calorie count low so you can enjoy your experiences to the fullest.

Whether we choose a classic margarita, Bloody Mary, Moscow Mule, or even a glass of wine like prosecco, our calorie intake can drastically increase without us noticing. That’s not even mentioning how many grams of sugar a typical cocktail, red wine, or white wine might sneak past us.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Before we can delve into some of our very best low-calorie options, we have to understand what to avoid and why Flying Embers is so different.

What Adds All Those Calories to Cocktails?

During a night out, brunch with friends, or any other adventure that calls for a delicious drink, it makes sense that calorie counts might not be our top priority. After all, we’re just trying to live in the moment. 

Perhaps the biggest creator of unnecessary calories in a beverage is an abundance of sugar. The sugar in drinks like mojitos or piña coladas can contribute to the dehydration caused by drinking too much alcohol, and we know hydration is what keeps us going during the day. 

As a result, we recommend opting for a drink without the unnecessary added sugars.

Flying Embers’ beverages use flavors from natural sources that happen to be more complex, full-bodied, and delicious than anything artificial could ever be with flavors like watermelon chili, grapefruit thyme, or cherry hibiscus lime.

Other alcoholic beverages have a severe transparency problem when it comes to calories. Beer can vary wildly in calories, and even light beer isn’t immune. 

Without access to the proper information, it’s difficult to make a fully educated choice. Instead, it’s all too easy to have multiple drinks without being aware of their approximate calorie count.

Flying Embers is transparent about our ingredients, calories, carb counts, and more. We want people to know exactly what they’re drinking so that they can enjoy every sip. We believe this is essential to maintaining a happy lifestyle. 

Avoid Drinking Your Calories

Making mindful choices can keep us feeling rejuvenated instead of bloated, tired, or generally meh. By picking a low-cal beverage, you can save your daily calories for anything else that might look intriguing. Those pita chips and hummus are calling our name…

After drinking a lower-calorie cocktail, the potential for the night ahead is nearly limitless. You never know when the opportunity for a surprise pizza night might come up with friends. If you drank most of your calories earlier in the day, you might not feel up to fully enjoying yourself.

A drink with fewer calories can help you to feel more present in the moment — meaning mindful drinking is basically the most fun you can have on a night out. Some people might worry that taking out the calories might also remove your drink’s vibrant taste, but that’s way off base.

In reality, low-cal alcoholic beverages can be just as good as their high-calorie counterparts, if not tastier. With low-calorie options, you get everything you love in a cocktail without drinking a full day of calories in the blink of an eye.

Make It Happier Hour With Low-Calorie Cocktails

The best low-calorie alcoholic drinks are the ones you don’t even notice are low-cal. It all comes down to taking out unnecessary additives in favor of delicious fruit juice. Depending on your palate, you can use anything from lime juice to grapefruit juice to tomato juice — hey, it’s technically a fruit

People often worry that their only low-carb, low-cal alcoholic beverage option is something like a boring old vodka soda. While vodka sodas can have their time and place, a drink can still be delicious and innovative without being bland or being loaded with simple syrup and other kinds of sugar.

Whether you’re trying to lose weight, want to make more mindful choices, or just want to see what’s out there, you have low-cal choices beyond a shot of tequila and a glass of water. (Our stomachs are churning just thinking about that one.) 

Each of our drinks can be enjoyed straight out of the can for a lower calorie delight. Still, you might want a more classic cocktail experience. Thankfully, our hard kombuchas, seltzers, and canned cocktails are as delicious in a mixed drink as they are on their own.

Flying Embers’ drinks are all low-calorie, low-sugar, and only use the best natural ingredients. Since we’re using botanicals, fruits, and more, there’s no need for added syrups or sugars. But if you’re looking for an even more complex flavor profile than what you’ll find in our canned beverages (and yes, it can get more complex than flavors like Watermelon Basil and Black Lime Juniper, which is shocking), read on.

Cranberry Razzy

This list is filled with cocktails using fruits, botanicals, and other natural ingredients. We believe that the best things come from nature, and we want our drinks to reflect that. 

The Cranberry Razzy is full of fruity goodness but stays low in calories. Muddle some cranberries and raspberries at the bottom of your glass for a tart but delicious taste. Next, you’re going to want two tablespoons of fresh lime juice. 

After that, it’s time for three-quarters of a cup of the vodka of your choice. This could be a raspberry- or cranberry-flavored vodka or it could be unflavored, depending on your preferences. Finally, add two cups of our Cranberry Raspberry with Lemon Bitters Hard Seltzer, which can be found in the Botanicals and Bitters Variety Pack

The best part? Our Cranberry Raspberry Hard Seltzer has zero sugar, zero carbs, and only 95 calories for the whole can. You can add whatever garnishes strike your fancy, but we’d recommend raspberries or lime wedges. 

You can also add some raspberries floating in the drink for added flair. Oh, you fancy, huh?

Black Cherry Gin Fizz

With a lovely medley of black cherry and lime flavors, this gin fizz is a tart and refreshing low-calorie cocktail. Start with an ounce of your choice of gin. Then, add one-half ounce of cherry syrup, if you’d like — or skip the syrup entirely for an even lower-cal option.

Next, a half-ounce of lime juice to bring out the tartness in the black cherry. You can also add muddled mint to make this drink even more exciting. Finally, complete the cocktail with three ounces of Cherry Hibiscus Lime with only 135 calories per can.

Kombucha Mimosa

The mimosa is a brunch staple, some easy modifications can turn it into an even more delicious morning pick-me-up without all the extra sugar. By using our two and a half ounces of our 130-calories-a-can Orange Passion Mimosa Hard Kombucha, you’ll create this light and fragrant base.

Next, add two ounces of orange juice, one ounce of passion fruit nectar, and pour it all into a chilled champagne glass. 

Part of what we love about mimosas is that they’re highly customizable depending on your palate and preferences. Since all of Flying Embers’ drinks are certified USDA organic with no carbs or sugars, there’s no limit to your customization possibilities.

Watermelon Basil Kombucharita

In order to make our delightful Watermelon Basil Kombucharita, you’re going to want to start by muddling basil into the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Afterward, add one ounce of tequila, a half-ounce of lime juice, and half an ounce of Agave. 

Shake to combine those ingredients, and after pouring into a glass, top it with three ounces of an 85-calorie can of Watermelon Basil Hard Kombucha.

Grapefruit Rosemary Smash 

This beloved cocktail calls for muddled rosemary, an ounce of vodka, a half-ounce of grapefruit juice, and a half-ounce of honey syrup. Top it off with a delectable 85-calorie can of Grapefruit Thyme Hard Kombucha.

Be Mine ‘Bucha

Finally, the lovingly named Be Mine ‘Bucha is as visually striking as it is delicious. Add an ounce of gin, half an ounce of lemon juice, half an ounce of honey syrup, muddled strawberries, and three ounces of our 85-cal Wild Berry Hard Kombucha into the glass of your choice. 

Now, all there’s left to do is enjoy.

Drink Smarter, Not Higher Calorie

It can be difficult to seek out low-calorie cocktail mixers. Those of us who want something with more flavor than soda water, tonic water, or club soda might find ourselves at a loss. 

The good news is that you can still enjoy a delicious and complex alcoholic beverage while still minimizing your calorie intake. Just let Flying Embers be your new night-out secret weapon. 

Sources:

Sugary Alcoholic Drinks and Bad Hangovers: The Sugar Connection | My Gut Health Today

Is a Tomato a Fruit? | National Geographic

The Hidden Calories in Your Booze, Explained | Vox