How do you celebrate with your mates and loved ones?
If you’re like us, you probably invite everyone over for a barby. You crack open a cold refreshing alcoholic beverage or mix up a fruity cocktail on the hot summer day. You may even decide to pop open that bottle of bubbly you’ve been saving for a special occasion.
We are huge believers in relaxing and enjoying a tasty drink this time of the year. However, we also know it’s easy to overlook the amount sugar being consumed. We end up eating and drinking with our eyes as everything is beautifully displayed during the holiday season. Not much thought goes into the nutritional content, unless you are following a strict diet protocol.
"The sugar content often is not known in alcoholic beverages because it cannot easily be found!"
The alcohol industry has a different set of guidelines when it comes to labelling nutrition on the bottle or packaging compared to the food industry. When a nutrition label is visible it makes you think twice before having seconds.
The governing body known as Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) only require nutrition information to be provided when, “a nutrition content claim or health claim is made in relation to an alcoholic beverage that contains more than 1.15% alcohol by volume. “ In other words, if the drink is being marketed as “Low Carb, Low Calorie or Low Sugar”, it must have a nutritional label. This means many mixers, spirits, beers and wines only have to list the alcohol content percentage nothing else.
So, we did some research for you on the amount of sugar in your favourite holiday drinks. We spent time at our local bottle shops searching for nutrition labels and reviewing data from popular nutrition trackers like MyFitnessPal/Calorieking..com to compile the 25 ‘Naughty to Nice’ List based on sugar content.
1Which of your favourites made the ‘Naughty List’?
| Beverage Standard Serve | Calories | Sugar (g) |
| Cocktail: Bellini / 120ml | 120 | 28 |
| Mixer: Pimms / 330ml | 175 | 25.3 |
| Cocktail: Espresso Martini / 145ml | 285 | 24 |
| Cocktail: Baileys on the rocks / 100ml | 350 | 20 |
| Mixer: Aperol Spritz / 120ml | 248 | 19 |
| Cocktail: Mimosa / 125ml | 92 | 16 |
| Cocktail: Caipirinha / 175ml | 161 | 13 |
| Cocktail: Cosmopolitan / 120ml | 213 | 11 |
| Cider: Castaway Low Carb Apple Cider / 330ml | 142 | 6.9 |
| Cider: Pure Blonde Organic Cider / 355ml | 117 | 6.1 |
2Which alcoholic drinks made the “Nice List”
| Beverage | Calories | Sugar (g) |
| Wine: White / 20ml | 120 | 28 |
| Cocktail: Gin& Tonic / 175ml | 175 | 25.3 |
| Beer: Tooheys TED / 330ml | 285 | 24 |
| Beer: Hahn Super Dry low carb / 330ml | 350 | 20 |
| Beer: Carlton Dry / 330ml | 248 | 19 |
| Mixer: Vodka Cruiser FREE Zero Sugar / 275ml | 92 | 16 |
everything in moderation, including moderation”.
3Which drinks can you enjoy in moderation?
| Beverage | Calories | Sugar (g) |
| Cocktail: Margarita / 150ml | 153 | 4.3 |
| Cocktail: Mojito / 100ml | 217 | 4.3 |
| Beer: Miller Chill with Lime / 330ml | 122 | 3.6 |
| Champagne: Brut / 150ml | 100 | 2 |
| Wine: Red /120ml | 125 | 1.5 |
4What are some Low Sugar refreshing alternatives?
|
Beverage |
Calories |
Sugar (g) |
|
Cocktail: Cape Cod Vodka 30ml (64cal) + Ocean Spray Low Sugar Cranberry 250ml (10cal) |
74 | 1.7 |
|
Cocktail: Cape Cod Vodka 30ml (64cal) + Ocean Spray Low Sugar Cranberry 250ml (10cal) |
76 | 0.5 |
|
Cocktail: Cuba Libre Rum 30ml (64cal) + No Sugar Cola 250ml (1cal) |
65 | 0 |
|
Cocktail: Vodka Spritz Vodka 30ml (64cal) + Naturally Nexba Kombucha 250ml (5cal) |
69 | 0 |
Most distilled alcoholic beverages use sugar at some stage when they are being produced, but the distillation process itself often dissolves the sugar. Overall, distilled liquor has low to no sugar content (that doesn’t mean calorie-free though)! You can create your own low sugar cocktail with simple spirits such as gin or vodka on the rocks, and mixing a soda water or naturally sweetened, sugar free mixers and a dash of fresh mint or lemon / lime juice.
Enjoy alcohol responsibly and may the spirits be with you!
