The rise of the keto diet in popular culture has prompted a lot of people to become more carb conscious, making them turn towards low-carb cocktails and meals in order to keep their daily carb counts low. Thankfully, you don't have to sacrifice taste to create incredibly flavorful low-carb cocktails, as these eleven drink recipes prove.
Low-Carb Cosmopolitan
This low carb take on the classic Cosmopolitan uses diet juices, extracts, and fresh ingredients to mimic the original flavor profile for all under 2g total of carbohydrates.
Ingredients
- ½ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- ½ teaspoon orange extract
- 3 teaspoons granulated allulose or erythritol sweetener
- 1 ounce diet cranberry juice
- 1½ ounces vodka
- Ice
- Orange peel for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, combine the lime juice, orange extract, sweetener, cranberry juice, and vodka.
- Add ice and shake to chill.
- Strain the contents into a chilled cocktail glass.
- Squeeze the orange peel over the top of the drink to release the oils and then drop it into the drink as garnish.
Gin Rickey
The historic gin rickey is naturally low carb, weighing in at 2g carbs per glass.
Instructions
- In a highball glass filled with ice, pour the lime juice and gin.
- Top with club soda and garnish with a lime wedge.
'Twas the Night Cocktail
This rich and spicy drink mixes together heavy cream, autumn seasonings, and rum to create a cocktail that's only 2g of carbs.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces heavy cream
- Dash nutmeg
- Dash cinnamon
- 1 ounce dark rum
- Ice
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, combine the heavy cream, nutmeg, cinnamon, and rum.
- Add ice and shake until chilled.
- Strain the mixture into a mug or rocks glass. Garnish with additional nutmeg if desired.
Strawberry Lemonade Fizz
You can have the delicious taste of fizzy and boozy strawberry lemonade for less than 1g of carbs with this strawberry lemonade fizz recipe.
Ingredients
- ½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 drink size package strawberry lemonade Crystal Light
- 1½ ounces vodka
- Ice
- Club soda
- Lemon slice for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, combine the lemon juice, Crystal Light, and vodka.
- Add ice and shake until chilled.
- Strain into a collins glass filled with ice and top with club soda.
- Garnish with a lemon slice.
Low-Carb Arnold Palmer
A quintessential summer drink is the Arnold Palmer, which mixes tea and lemonade together. This low carb alcoholic version weighs in at under 1g of carbohydrate.
Ingredients
- Ice
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 ounces lemon seltzer
- 2 ounces brewed black tea
- 1 ounce vodka
- Lemon wheel for garnish
Instructions
- In tall glass filled with ice, combine the lemon juice, lemon seltzer, black tea, and vodka.
- Using a cocktail spoon, stir the mixture and garnish with a lemon wheel.
Low-Carb White Russian
White Russians are considered one of the most beloved creamy cocktails out there, and you won't experience any guilt trying this low carb version that only has 2.5g of carbs per glass.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Torani sugar-free chocolate syrup
- 3 ounces heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ounce brewed espresso, chilled
- 1½ ounces vodka
- Ice
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, combine the chocolate syrup, heavy cream, vanilla extract, espresso, and vodka.
- Add ice and shake until chilled.
- Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice and serve.
Low Carb Cape Cod Cocktail
Cranberry fans out there are quite familiar with the classic Cape Cod cocktail, and this low-carb recipe uses diet cranberry juice to create a drink that's only 1.5 grams of carbs.
Ingredients
- Ice
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 3 ounces diet cranberry juice
- 2 ounces vodka
- Lemon peel for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a rocks glass or rocks glass filled with ice, pour the lime juice, diet cranberry juice, and vodka.
- Mix together using a cocktail spoon and garnish with the optional lemon peel.
Low-Carb Long Island Iced Tea
While this low-carb Long Island iced tea recipe packs flavor into every mouthful, it all amounts to less than 1g of carbs per glass.
Ingredients
- ½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ ounce granulated Swerve or Erythritol sweetener
- 2 drops orange extract
- ½ ounce vodka
- ½ ounce gin
- ½ ounce white rum
- ½ ounce silver tequila
- Ice
- Diet cola
- Lemon wedge for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, combine the lemon juice, sweetener, orange juice, vodka, gin, white rum, and silver tequila.
- Add ice and shake until chilled.
- Strain the mixture into a collins glass filled with ice. Top with the diet cola and garnish with a lemon wedge.
Autumn Nights Cocktail
Enjoy your brisk autumn evenings with this heady, bubbly drink that measures to less than 1g of carbs per glass.
Ingredients
- Dash cardamom bitters
- Dash ground cloves
- 2 ounces gold rum
- Ice
- Diet ginger beer
- 1-2 lime slices for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a collins glass, combine the cardamom bitters, cloves, and gold rum.
- Stir with a barspoon spoon.
- Add ice.
- Top with diet ginger ale and garnish with the optional lime slices.
Orange Spritzer
If you're looking for a fresh and low carb way to enjoy your nightly glass of wine, try this orange spritzer recipe, which only has 2.3g of carbs per glass.
Ingredients
- 3 ounces chilled dry white wine
- 3 ounces chilled orange flavored seltzer
- 1 orange twist for garnish
Instructions
- In a wine glass, combine the wine and seltzer.
- Garnish with an orange twist.
Low-Carb Kamikaze
Normally served in shot form, this low-carb kamikaze converts the original recipe and transforms it into a 2.4g of carbs cocktail.
Ingredients
- 1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 drops liquid sweetener
- 2 ounces vodka
- Ice
- Splash water
- 1 mint sprig for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, combine the lime juice, liquid sweetener, and vodka.
- Add ice and shake until chilled.
- Strain the mixture into a rocks glass filled with ice and top with a splash of water.
- Garnish with a mint sprig and serve.
Delicious Low Carb Mixers
If you're feeling inspired to experiment with making your own low carb cocktails, try incorporating these already low carb mixers to your spirits:
- Club soda
- Diet soda
- Diet juice
- Diet tonic water
- Low-carb flavored seltzer
- Heavy cream
- Coconut milk (full fat)
- Freshly squeezed lime and lemon juice
- Crystal light
- Espresso
- Zevia
- Iced tea
- Iced coffee
Tips for Making Low Carb Cocktails
Now that you've got an idea of the types of things you can mix with your cocktails, take a look at these useful tips for how to keep your cocktails as close to zero carb as possible:
Don't Skimp on the Spirits
Most hard liquors contain no carbs, so unlike with low calorie recipes, you don't have to skimp on the amount of hard spirits you use in your mixed drinks. Flavored hard liquors such as flavored vodkas and whiskies, however, often have added sugar, so stick with unflavored spirits. Liqueurs also tend to have a high sugar content. Likewise, it's important to understand that your body will burn alcohol before you burn fat, so if you're trying to maintain ketosis, recognize that your body will burn the alcohol before it returns to burning fat for fuel, which may slow ketosis.
Use Extracts or Bitters Instead of Juices or Liqueurs
Many fruit juices and liqueurs can be very high carb, but using a few drops of the extracts of the flavors or flavored cocktail bitters instead can bring the hints of a flavor without adding extra carbs to each drink.
Add Citrus Juice or Zest, or Muddle for Big Flavor
You can add big flavor by muddling a small amount of fruit or herbs for not a lot of carbs, or you can use about a half an ounce of freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice.
- Lemon and lime juices, freshly squeezed, both have 1 g of carbs per ounce, so add half an ounce for a pop of flavor.
- Alternatively, muddle a small slice of citrus such as a lime slice, lemon slice, orange slice, or kumquat. Muddling adds just a small amount of carbs (for example, an orange section has 2 g of carbs).
- You can also simply muddle a citrus peel. Citrus peel has flavorful citrus oils that flavor the drink without adding to the carb count.
- If you muddle one or two berries, you'll get the flavor but under 2g of carbs.
- Muddling herbs also adds flavor without carbs.
Incorporate Sugar Substitutes
High levels of carbs generally come from added sugars, and an easy way to get away from this is to use other forms of sweetener like allulose or erythritol. If you're using liquid forms, make sure to add water or soda water to your cocktail to account for the lost volume that simple syrup normally gives.
Ordering Low-Carb Drinks
Not every restaurant is going to have their carb counts readily available beside each of their cocktail listings, so if you're trying to stay low carb and want to order from their menu, follow this helpful guide:
- The fewer ingredients, the better - A quick way to check for carb count is to look for cocktails that have few ingredients; a spirit and a single mixer will normally account for fewer carbs than a multi-layered cocktail of various components.
- Request diet whenever possible - If you're a big fan of soda and spirit cocktails, then an easy way to keep your carbs low is to request diet sodas be used instead.
- Stick to dry white wines - In general, if you want to order a glass of wine and have as few carbs as possible, stick to the dry white wine and Champagne options. These all have around 2g of carbs or under for a five ounce glass, whereas red wines are double the amount.
Low Carb, but High Taste
It's awesome to be conscious of the types of things that you're putting into your body, and if you find yourself wanting to cut down on your carb intake but you're worried about what you're going to have to limit, rest assured that cocktails aren't one of them. Low carb mixed drinks can be both delicious and healthy, and any one of these eleven recipes will keep you under your daily limit with ease.
