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10 Best And Worst Keto Alcoholic Drinks You Could Try 

Written By: Lakshmi Jaisimha

13 June 2022

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Following a diet usually means giving up your favorite food, especially foods containing carbs. Unfortunately, this can include alcohol for anybody who loves a drink now and then.

But not for you! Alcohol is not banned in the keto diet. It may be part of your keto diet when consumed in moderation. 

Keto alcoholic drinks do contain calories, but they have low carbs in comparison to other fun drinks. 

However, if your goal with keto is weight reduction, it’s better to avoid alcohol or your weight reduction may get plateaued. 

If that’s okay with you, you need to know the best low-carb, keto-friendly alcoholic drinks. That’s what we’re sharing with you today! Thank us later!

Keto Alcoholic Drinks You Can Enjoy

• Spirits

Alcoholic beverages such as vodka, gin, rum, and tequila contain zero carbs and are safe to keep you in ketosis. (1)

• Champagne 

A 150 ml serving of champagne brings only 3 to 4 grams of carbs to the table. So, if this sparkling white wine is your poison feel free to add a glass or two to your day. However, any more than that may mean you don’t only wake up with a hangover but give up on many keto diet benefits. (2)

• Red Wine

Red wine is appropriate when following a keto diet plan. But be sure to stick to keto wines with minimal carbohydrate content like Merlot, Beringer Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon. (3, 4)

• Dry Martini  

A single martini has less than 1g of net carbohydrates since it doesn’t contain juices, syrup, or sugar like other drinks. Its key ingredients are gin/vodka with a little splash of vermouth. The drink is garnished with an olive or a lemon twist. 

When on a keto diet, the lemon twist is the way to garnish, while gin and vodka are both okay. (5)

• Sugar-Free Margarita 

Margarita is a keto alcoholic drink when you don’t add sugar to it. A regular margarita mix usually contains sugar, making a total of about 17.78g of carbs. (6)

Since the net carbs allowed on keto are only 20g, you must avoid such mixes. After all, our food – no matter what kind, always has some proportion of carbs. So, you either avoid the margarita mix or go on a water fast for the rest of the day.

To make a perfect margarita, you can enjoy guilt-free, use tequila, lime juice, and orange extract instead of the margarita mix. If you still want to use a mix, use the sugar-free mix with 0g carbs like the one provided by The Jel Sert Company. (7)

• Low Carb Cosmopolitan 

Cosmopolitans are made with vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice, and lime. To make it a keto alcoholic drink, replace the Cointreau with orange essence and sugar-free cranberry juice. 

If you have a sugar craving, opt for sugar alcohol instead of regular sugar. Don’t worry, sugar alcohols are keto-friendly.

4 Alcoholic Drinks You Must Avoid On Keto

• Beers 

Beer comes from grains, which are high in quickly digested carbohydrates. An average can of beer contains 12.6g of carbohydrates. (8)

If you drink one can, you will have to carefully choose your keto lunch and other meals for the rest of the day because you can’t have more than 20g if you want to maintain ketosis. 

Also, if you have a habit of drinking beer now and then, you already know that it will be difficult to not pick another can. Once you make that mistake, you will be out of ketosis in no time. So, it’s best to avoid beers when on a keto diet. 

Or you could try the 21-day habit theory to break off the habit of drinking beer and then try the keto diet for its benefits later.

• Coolers 

Coolers are not keto alcoholic drinks. These pre-mixed, bottled beverages, sometimes known as alcopops, spirit coolers, wine coolers, or hard lemonades, are high in sugar and carbohydrates. For example, Mike’s hard lemonade, a popular cooler, has 32 g of carbs in one serving. (9)

• Liqueurs 

Liqueurs like Campari, Cointreau, Triple Sec, Ouzo, Sambuca, Crème de cassis, Crème de cacao, Crème de menthe, Coffee liqueur (Kahlúa), and Amaretto have 12 to 24 grams of carbohydrates per 1.5 ounces. 

They have the most carbs of any alcoholic beverage, and they always contain sugar. So, if you wish to drink a liqueur on its own when on a keto diet, keep the portion size in mind. Make sure to calculate the carbs according to the nutrition label first. 

Use a small pour or a sugar-free substitute if you want to use liqueur in your keto alcoholic cocktail drink recipes.

• White Russian 

Made with vodka, Kahlúa liqueur, and cream, the White Russian is a classic three-ingredient fancy cocktail. One serving of this drink contains 25g of carbohydrates, 22 of which is simply sugar. (10)

The main reason it has so many carbs is because of the liqueur. 25 g crosses the limit of 20g net carbs allowed on keto. So this drink is not a keto alcoholic drink and is best avoided. 

The Bottom Line

Now you know which alcoholic drinks are on and off the table. With that knowledge, you can be part of parties and celebrations even when following the keto diet. After all, just because you’re on a diet, you shouldn’t have to completely give up alcohol. 

When you consume keto alcoholic drinks in moderation, you can ensure not to kick your body out of ketosis while still having a delightful time. 

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