Can you lose weight and drink? What if you drink a lower calorie drink? Is liquor better than beer? How about wine? Is there zero-calorie alcohol? How important are calories in picking your drink? Alcohol and calories are always a huge discussion at my bar, and they seem to have attracted a lot of interest on this blog. Here is what you need to know about drinking and calories.

• Don’t Drink Light Beer. You drink to have fun with friends and to enjoy a tasty beverage. Light beer is definitely not fun and because the alcohol percentage is lower, you end up drinking more. You’re also paying for extra water. Bud Light is one thing, but absolutely forget about MGD 64 or the upcoming Bud Select 55. MGD 64 is 2.8% alcohol, which means you have to drink almost two simultaneously to reach the alcohol and taste of a full-bodied beer.
• Do Shots, Not Shooters. If you are reading this, I assume you are someone old enough to appreciate what goes into their body. When you were 21, it was OK to drink kamikaze shooters, Washington Apples, and Slippery Nipples. Now that you’re a little older, forget the extra calories that come from juices, creams, mixes and liqueurs. They contain no alcohol (or some in the case of liqueurs) and they will make you fat. Instead train your pallet to enjoy a chilled shot of Grey Goose, or be a man and drink a shot of whiskey. You’ll get more bang for your buck and less gut in front you.
• Learn How to Drink Wine… The Right Way. I had a couple ladies at my bar recently ask about Slender, a fairly new wine that uses no added sugar. They called it “zero-calorie wine.” HA! There is no such thing in the alcohol world. Slender uses a zero-calorie artificial sweetener to add flavor. That doesn’t mean the juice contains no alcohol. Ladies and gents, it’s time to ditch the white zin, riesling, and anything that tastes like candy. Slow down, sip your wine and pay attention to aromas and flavors that aren’t like candied apples.
• Drink a Ton of Water. Ever watch somebody drink a rum and coke? I see people all the time use the straw (amateur mistake) and suck down drinks in 5 – 10 minutes. They are dehydrated. Drinking water will make you feel more full, will slow down your drink, and will prevent a hangover. How about ordering a water with every drink? You may think this is annoying to a bartender… if you find one who is, stop giving him business. I’m interested in having customers who are good company for more than 30 minutes; water is the key to a fun night, looser jeans, and a better morning.
• Know The Facts. Alcohol is alcohol is alcohol. It doesn’t matter if it comes from beer, wine or liquor. What matters is calories. If you are into counting carbs, that’s another issue. The bottom line, it doesn’t matter which of the three main styles of alcohol you choose — they all contain calories. Drinking alcohol will not help you lose weight, but drinking the right way will certainly hurt you less on your journey. Follow the above guidelines and you will make vast improvement in the quality of your consumption.

Image from the Space for Fitness.

It has taken years to get people accustomed to drinking wine out of a box and from screw-top bottles. Well time keeps marching on and new, cheaper containers are the future. But not so fast. Treehugger.com is not sure this is a good move at all for the sake of the environment, and we know that it’s definitely not cool. From Treehugger:

But did we gain anything? If moving away from corks (which can be recycled) to screw-tops which cannot, and moving from glass to plastic (both of which can be recycled, but glass can be recycled indefinitely) did we really gain anything? While yes the PET can be recycled into clothing, park benches, toothbrushes and other materials, what is the end of life for these items? Are we really gaining by making more tshirts or would it be better to use glass and turn those glass bottles into more glass bottles? The PET bottles are shatterproof and lighterweight, which is better for shipping and transport, but is that enough savings to outweigh the fact that many bottles never get recycled and that we’re putting more plastic into the environment with these? According to Boisset, the PET bottles have a 50% smaller carbon footprint than a traditional bottle throughout its lifecycle from transport to use to recycling.

What are some of your favorite cheap wines? I like offerings from Fish Eye, Barefoot, and Alice White. There are also great box wines from Delicato and Black Box. Recently one of the most popular wines, Relax Riesling, added a box option.

Guidespot.com suggests even more great cheap wines. Check it out.

Stereotypes are generally bad. They don’t tell the complete story about anyone or any particular group.  Still, the folks over at BumWine.com have profiled the top five wines for, well….  bums.

Follow the link for reviews of Cisco, Mad Dog 20/20, Night Train, Thunderbird, and Wild Irish Rose.