INTRODUCTION

Everyone loves a really fun cocktail! Cocktails can lift your spirits after a long workday, kick off an exciting vacation, and ring in the holidays like nothing else. But all those fun times can unfortunately pack on the calories before you know it. Even a well-crafted specialty cocktail is almost always filled with a lot of sugar and fat that can take all the joy out of cocktail hour. 150-Calorie Cocktails has lots of low-calorie recipes, as well as clever tips and tricks that will let you once again enjoy fantastic mixed drinks without all the guilt. Plus, there are delicious snack recipes that are also amazingly low cal. Now you can put the “happy” back into Happy Hour!

SKINNY SIPPING & SMART SNACKING

A cocktail is defined as an alcoholic drink consisting of a spirit or several spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as fruit juice, lemonade, soda, and/or cream. The spirits themselves don’t have all that many calories, depending on their proof, but boy, can those add-ins add up! Not to mention that even if you do choose a light beverage, most bar snacks are loaded with salt, fat, and calories. But never you fear! The recipes in this book are all you need to have a great time and not worry about your figure.

WHAT IS PROOF? Spirits are measured by proof. Alcohol proof is a measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in an alcoholic beverage. The amount of alcohol depends on how much was cooked off in the distilling process and how much water was added to bring the number down. The two most common proof amounts are 100 proof, which contains about 50% alcohol, and 80 proof, which contains about 40% alcohol. Why does 80 proof only contain 40% alcohol? In the United States, the proof of an alcoholic beverage is twice its alcohol content, expressed as percentage by volume at 60°F. So an 80 proof whiskey is 40% alcohol.

LET’S USE 80 PROOF VODKA AS AN EXAMPLE. On average, 80 proof vodka (40% alcohol) has 100 calories per shot (1½ ounces) and about 65 calories per ounce. The greater the vodka proof, the more calories per ounce. For an easy way to estimate the number of calories per ounce of vodka, subtract 15 from the vodka proof.

80 proof vodka / 80 − 15 = 65 calories per ounce

The number of ounces in a standard alcoholic drinks in the United States is 12 ounces for beer, 5 ounces for wine, and 1½ ounces for 80 proof liquor.

EASY TIPS FOR MAKING A LOW-CALORIE COCKTAIL

1   Choose a lower-proof liquor. All liquors with the same proof have roughly the same calories. In other words, 80 proof vodka has the same number of calories per ounce as 80 proof gin, bourbon, tequila, and so on. The lower the proof, the fewer calories a liquor has (and the less potent it will be). For example, 80 proof vodka has 65 calories an ounce; 100 proof vodka has about 85 calories an ounce. The recipes in this book use 80 proof because it’s what you’re most likely to find in your liquor store, and it seems to be the standard in upscale bars.

2   Avoid prepared drink mixes, which contain lots of corn syrup, not to mention artificial flavors and sweeteners. Make your own cocktails from scratch so you can control the calories and the ingredients.

3   Skip the store-bought syrups—such as sour mix–flavored syrups—and save calories by making your own flavored simple syrups.

4   Choose soda water or sparkling water over tonic water. Tonic water looks innocent, but it actually has 90 calories per cup, unlike club soda and sparkling water, which are calorie free. Also, club soda and sparkling waters come in a variety of flavors these days, and all are natural and calorie free. Polar brand has an amazing variety of flavors that can be found throughout the country (www.polarbev.com).

5   Dilute your wine with soda water or seltzer. You’ll stay hydrated, and a spritzer made with 3 ounces of wine and 2 ounces of soda water has only 60 calories. Add a few slices of fruit and you have a low-calorie sangria.

6   Experiment with flavored liquors. There is everything from citrus-, chile-, and berry-flavored vodkas and gins to chocolate-flavored tequila. And all of them contain the same number of calories as unflavored liquor: 96 calories per 80 proof shot (1½ ounces).

7   Use sugar-free sodas, fruit juices, lemonades, and iced teas.

THE LOW-CALORIE COCKTAIL PANTRY

Here is a list of things to have on hand, along with caloric information so you can create your own low-calorie libations.

LIQUOR AND WINE

RED WINE	5 ounces	Approx. 125 calories
SPARKLING WINE	5 ounces	Approx. 125 calories
WHITE WINE	5 ounces	Approx. 125 calories
GIN, 80 PROOF	1½ ounces	Approx. 96 calories
RUM, 80 PROOF	1½ ounces	Approx. 96 calories
TEQUILA, 80 PROOF	1½ ounces	Approx. 96 calories
WHISKEY, 80 PROOF	1½ ounces	Approx. 96 calories
VODKA, 80 PROOF	1½ ounces	Approx. 96 calories
LIGHT BEER	12 ounces	103–110 calories
REGULAR BEER	12 ounces	138 calories

MIXERS

COLA	12 ounces	140 calories
DIET SODA (ALL)	12 ounces	0 calories
GRAPEFRUIT JUICE	12 ounces	144 calories
LEMON-LIME SODA	12 ounces	140 calories
LIGHT ORANGE JUICE	12 ounces	75 calories
ORANGE JUICE	12 ounces	170 calories
PINEAPPLE JUICE	12 ounces	240 calories
LEMON JUICE	1 lemon	17 calories
LIME JUICE	1 lime	10 calories
APPLE CIDER	8 ounces	116 calories
COCONUT WATER	8 ounces	46 calories
COFFEE OR TEA	8 ounces	0 calories
CRANBERRY JUICE	8 ounces	140 calories
DIET LEMONADE (Newman’s)	8 ounces	20 calories
LIGHT ORANGE JUICE	8 ounces	50 calories
LEMONADE (Newman’s)	8 ounces	110 calories
TOMATO JUICE	8 ounces	40 calories

SWEETENERS

AGAVE 19–22 calories per teaspoon

CONFECTIONERS’ SUGAR 10 calories per teaspoon

HONEY 22 calories per teaspoon

SIMPLE SYRUP 45 calories per tablespoon

SUGAR 15 calories per teaspoon

SUPERFINE SUGAR 15 calories per teaspoon

FUN ADDITIONS

COCOA POWDER, SWEETENED 35 calories per tablespoon

COCOA POWDER, UNSWEETENED 12 calories per tablespoon

FAT-FREE HALF-AND-HALF 20 calories per tablespoon

FRESH HERBS 0 calories

HERSHEY’S LIGHT CHOCOLATE SYRUP 22.5 calories per tablespoon

SKIM PLUS MILK 110 calories per 8 ounces

SPICES 0 calories

skim plus milk When shopping for milk to make these drinks, make sure you get Skim Plus brand milk. It’s just as skinny as other milks but has the body and texture of the full-fat variety.

SIMPLE SYRUP

makes 1 cup

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup cold water

In a small saucepan set over high heat, combine the sugar and water. Bring to a boil and cook until the sugar has completely dissolved, about 2 minutes.

Let cool to room temperature and transfer to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours. The syrup will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

VARIATIONS

SOUR MIX SIMPLE SYRUP Add the grated zest of 1 orange, 1 lemon, and 1 lime. Store the syrup with the zest in the container.

CITRUS SIMPLE SYRUP Add 2 tablespoons grated zest of lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, or tangerine, or a combination of any.

BERRY SIMPLE SYRUP Add 1 cup raspberries, blackberries, chopped strawberries, or blueberries.

CONCORD GRAPE SIMPLE SYRUP Add 1 cup Concord grapes and cook for 5 minutes.

MINT SIMPLE SYRUP Add ¼ cup packed fresh mint leaves.

SPICED SIMPLE SYRUP Add 2 cinnamon sticks, 1 star anise, 8 whole cloves, and 4 black peppercorns.

FRESH GINGER SIMPLE SYRUP Add ¼ cup peeled and chopped fresh ginger.

HONEY SIMPLE SYRUP Bring 1 cup honey and 1 cup water to a boil, let cool, and refrigerate. Add any of the previously mentioned flavorings, if desired.