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I'm looking for types of alcohols which have least carbohydrates. I'm looking for more of a ranking than just a single one, as it would be clean spirit, wouldn't it?

The general idea is to know what to choose over what when I want to limit carbohydrates and have a drink.

To make it more like a measurable criteria I'd say that I want to get equally drunk so amount of drink I need to consume would vary.

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    Keep in mind that alcohol itself has a bunch of calories. Something like 7 calories per gram (compared to 4 calories per gram for carbohydrates).
    – Brendan Long
    Apr 24, 2011 at 2:49
  • Liquor or distilled spirit would be a better term. Ethyl alcohol is typically not considered a carbohydrate.
    – paparazzo
    Nov 15, 2016 at 16:27

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All distilled spirits have no carbohydrates at all. Vodka, whisky, whatever. Only alcohol, water and aromatic compounds can ascend the spiral in a distillation process.

So a standard alcohol portion (10g ethanol) from a distilled spirit has 0 grams carbohydrate.

Properly made table wine shouldn't conatin carbs either, as all the grape carbs should be fermented. Sometimes substances which aren't recognized in a food are counted towards carbohydrates, that's what a source claims is made with wine.

Then there is sweet dessert wine, there you have 3-4 grams of carbs per 10 grams of ethanol (70-100 ml depending on wine), because it has more sugar. I didn't find information on fortified wine, but as they have more alcohol than sweet dessert wine and probably about as much unfermented sugar, it is about the same or somewhat less.

In beer, expect something like 7-8 g carbohydrates per 200 ml (I am assuming an average ABV of 5%). A big comparison of American beers is given here

I can't help you with liqueurs, they typically are infusions of plants in distilled alcohol, but may have sugar and other stuff added. It depends on recipe.

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If you think about it, the idea is to avoid sweet and sugary - so gin, vodka, whisky etc with a diet soda mixer will beat anything else for low carb.

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While ethanol is not, strictly speaking, a carbohydrate, I'd consider the effect of the alcohol itself. If your goal is to avoid the weight gain associated with carbohydrates, I'd suggest that the alcohol itself is more significant. While carbs will at least provide energy, alcohol is very poorly metabolized.

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  • Huh?! Either the calories of alcohol are metabolized and there is weight gain from them, or they aren't, then there is no weight gain from them. "Carbs will at least provide energy" - that's what he is trying to avoid. So what are you trying to say here?
    – rumtscho ♦
    Apr 25, 2011 at 9:33
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    On a side note, the point of a low-carb diet is to manage the insulin-glucagon system for blood sugar regulation. Calories from anything but insulin-activating carbohydrates are considered immaterial in such a diet. But we don't need to discuss this here, I provide this as background info.
    – rumtscho ♦
    Apr 25, 2011 at 9:44
  • @rumtscho Agreed. The question wasn't about calories, but carbs. Too much alcohol can give some diabetics a low blood sugar emergency.
    – OpenID-test2
    Jun 15, 2011 at 1:15

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