You can drink and lose weight — the key is knowing which drinks cost you the fewest calories. Alcoholic drinks range from 54 calories for a slimline gin and tonic to over 300 calories for a pint of craft ale or a sugary cocktail. The difference is significant enough to matter to any diet.
Spirits contain the fewest calories per serving because they carry no added sugar. A 25ml measure of gin, vodka, or tequila sits at 52–64 calories before any mixer is added. Wine and beer are higher — but the gap between a smart choice and a poor one within each category is often 100+ calories.
Mixers are where most people go wrong. Regular tonic water adds 70–80 calories per 150ml. Swap it for slimline tonic and the saving is immediate. The same principle applies across every category.
This guide ranks popular UK drinks by calories per standard serving — covering spirits, wine, beer, prosecco, cider, and alcopops. It also covers which mixers to choose, what to avoid, and answers the most common questions.
If you follow Slimming World, check out our full low syn drinks guide for syn values alongside the calorie counts below.
This table shows calories per standard UK serving across the most common drink categories. Servings follow standard UK measures: 25ml spirits, 125ml wine, 330ml beer or cider can.
| Drink | Serving Size | Calories | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gin + slimline tonic | 25ml + 150ml | 54 kcal | Lowest calorie mixed drink |
| Vodka + soda water | 25ml + 150ml | 55 kcal | Zero-calorie mixer |
| Hard seltzer (e.g. Bodega Bay) | 330ml can | 72 kcal | Lowest ready-to-drink option |
| Prosecco | 125ml | 80 kcal | Lower than most still wines |
| Dry white wine (e.g. Pinot Grigio) | 125ml | 96 kcal | Choose dry over sweet |
| Red wine | 125ml | 107 kcal | Higher than white on average |
| Gin + regular tonic | 25ml + 150ml | 126 kcal | Mixer adds ~72 calories |
| Amstel lager | 330ml can | 130 kcal | Lower-calorie lager option |
| Corona | 330ml bottle | 148 kcal | Standard lager range |
| Kopparberg Strawberry & Lime | 500ml bottle | 275 kcal | High sugar — avoid on a diet |
| Alcopop (e.g. WKD Blue) | 275ml bottle | 192 kcal | High sugar, high calories |
| Pint of craft IPA | 568ml | 250–320 kcal | Highest calorie common drink |
Spirits with diet mixers consistently come out lowest. Beer, cider, and alcopops are the highest-calorie options per sitting.
Spirits contain the fewest calories of any alcohol category — a 25ml measure of gin, vodka, or tequila ranges from 52 to 64 calories. There is no added sugar in plain spirits.
Gordon's London Dry Gin contains 52 calories per 25ml measure. Smirnoff Red Vodka contains 55 calories per 25ml. The difference between spirit types is small — the mixer choice creates far more variation.
Rum and whisky sit at a similar level. A 25ml measure of Famous Grouse Scotch Whisky contains 55 calories. Dark rums are comparable. Avoid flavoured spirits — Gordon's Pink Gin contains added sugar and comes in at around 72 calories per measure.
Best choice: Gin or vodka with slimline tonic or soda water — 54–57 calories per serve.
Dry white wine is the lowest-calorie wine option. A 125ml glass of Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc contains 96–100 calories. Sweet wines — including dessert wine and most rosé — contain significantly more due to residual sugar.
Barefoot Pinot Grigio comes in at around 100 calories per 125ml. A standard 125ml pour of prosecco contains roughly 80 calories — lower than most still wines because prosecco is lower in alcohol and residual sugar.
Avoid sweet whites and oaked Chardonnays — these reach 120–130 calories per 125ml. A large 250ml pub pour of wine doubles all of these figures immediately.
Best choice: Dry white wine or prosecco in a 125ml pour — 80–100 calories per glass.
Standard lager in a 330ml can contains 130–150 calories. Amstel sits at the lower end of this range at 130 calories per can. Corona contains approximately 148 calories per 330ml bottle. A pint (568ml) of standard lager reaches 220–250 calories.
Hard seltzers beat all standard beers on calories. Bodega Bay Hard Seltzer contains 72 calories per 330ml can. DRTY Hard Seltzer contains 83 calories per can. Both are available in UK supermarkets and are a genuine low-calorie alternative to beer.
Craft ales and IPAs are the highest-calorie beer options — a pint of 6–7% IPA can reach 300+ calories. Avoid these on a calorie-controlled diet.
Best choice: Hard seltzer at 72–83 calories per can, or Amstel at 130 calories for a traditional lager.
Prosecco is the most diet-friendly sparkling option. A 125ml glass contains around 80 calories — less than most still wines and significantly less than champagne at the same serving size.
Cider is one of the highest-calorie choices. Kopparberg Strawberry & Lime contains 275 calories in a 500ml bottle due to high sugar content. Dry ciders are lower — around 200 calories per pint — but still higher than wine or spirits per unit of alcohol.
Alcopops such as WKD and Smirnoff Ice contain 180–220 calories per bottle. The sugar content drives the calorie count. These drinks offer no advantage over a spirit and mixer — and cost far more calories per serve.
Best choice: Prosecco in a standard 125ml pour at 80 calories. Avoid fruit ciders and alcopops entirely when calorie counting.
The mixer often adds more calories than the spirit itself. Regular Schweppes Tonic Water contains 72 calories per 150ml. Swap it for Schweppes Slimline Tonic and that figure drops to 3 calories — a saving of 69 calories per drink.
The same principle applies to all mixers. Cola adds 58 calories per 150ml. Diet Cola adds 1 calorie. Lemonade adds 57 calories per 150ml. Diet lemonade adds 2 calories.
Soda water and sparkling water add zero calories. These are the best choices to mix with spirits. A squeeze of fresh lime adds 3–5 calories and improves flavour without affecting the calorie count meaningfully.
| Mixer (150ml) | Calories | Better Swap | Calories Saved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular tonic water | 72 kcal | Slimline tonic | 69 kcal |
| Cola | 58 kcal | Diet Cola | 57 kcal |
| Lemonade | 57 kcal | Diet lemonade | 55 kcal |
| Orange juice | 55 kcal | Soda water + lime | 52 kcal |
| Soda water | 0 kcal | Already optimal | — |
Switching from regular to diet mixers is the single easiest calorie saving in any drink order — often more impactful than changing the spirit itself.
Cocktails with sugary syrups are the highest-calorie drinks category. A Pina Colada contains 300–450 calories per serving. A Margarita made with triple sec and sugar syrup reaches 250–300 calories. An Espresso Martini averages 200–230 calories.
Fruit ciders, alcopops, and sweet wines all carry significantly more sugar than their low-calorie counterparts. Kopparberg Mixed Fruits contains 28g of sugar per 500ml bottle — that sugar drives the calorie count above most pints of lager.
Creamy liqueurs are also high in calories. Baileys Irish Cream contains 165 calories per 50ml measure — more than three times a standard 25ml shot of vodka. Avoid cream-based cocktails and liqueurs on a calorie-controlled diet.
A gin or vodka with slimline tonic water is the lowest-calorie alcoholic drink at approximately 54–57 calories per serve. Hard seltzers are the lowest-calorie ready-to-drink option at 72–83 calories per can. Plain spirits before any mixer is added contain 52–64 calories per 25ml measure.
Yes — a single gin and slimline tonic contains 54 calories versus 96–107 calories for a 125ml glass of wine. A double gin with regular tonic reaches 153 calories — more than a glass of dry white wine. The mixer and measure determine the final calorie count more than the spirit type.
A 125ml glass of prosecco contains approximately 80 calories. A 200ml flute — a typical restaurant serving — contains around 128 calories. Prosecco is lower in calories than most still wines at the same serving size because it has lower residual sugar and slightly lower alcohol content.
Soda water and sparkling water add zero calories. Slimline tonic water adds 3 calories per 150ml. Diet cola and diet lemonade add 1–2 calories per 150ml. These four mixers are the best choices for keeping a spirit-based drink under 60 calories per serve.
A 330ml can of standard lager at 130–150 calories and a 125ml glass of dry white wine at 96–100 calories are comparable at small serving sizes. A pint of lager at 568ml reaches 220–250 calories — higher than a standard 175ml glass of wine at 135–150 calories. Beer becomes significantly higher in calories at pub serving sizes.
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