A Low-Sugar Lifestyle: Options for Low- or No-Sugar Non-Alcoholic Drinks
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Choosing to lead an alcohol-free lifestyle can be so joyful and brought me so much I wouldn’t have had otherwise. What I didn’t count on was giving up one borderline addiction for another addiction: sugar. Giving up my daily wine habit three years ago meant I quickly replaced it with dopamine-boosters like chocolate and dessert and candy, creating a reward-cycle that has now led to binge eating nutella and secret stashes of cookies. Recently, I’ve made a big mental and physical shift to try and break this habit which extends into my non-alcoholic drink choices.
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Why Some Sugar Is Necessary for Non-Alcoholic Drinks
For the past year or two, I’ve been a bit dismissive when people ask me for sugar-free non-alcoholic drink options. Sugar is such an integral (but not mandatory) part of flavour and substance in alcohol-removed liquids. The idea of removing sugar means a reduction in some flavour notes and mouthfeel.
But…it is absolutely possible to find and make good non-alcoholic drinks that are low-in-sugar or sugar-free, but more importantly, also finding that balance in life so we can have the things that might have a bit more sugar in them like some non-alcoholic wines.
Here are some easy recommendations for low-alcohol and no-alcohol drinks with minimal sugar.
The best low sugar non-alcoholic mocktail formula
Most if not all non-alcoholic spirits like non-alcoholic gin or tequila are zero sugar. Mixing it into your own cocktail is the best way to control your sugar but still have an elevated non-alcoholic drink. The best place to start is by making a simple drink with a low-sugar or zero-sugar mixer and experiment with sweetness and flavour from there.
For example, start with some ice and add:
1 oz non-alcoholic gin
3 oz blackberry sparkling water
To incorporate some flavour and sweetness, without simple syrup, muddle (crush) 2-3 blackberries in the bottom of the glass with a wooden spoon before adding the gin and sparkling water, and then add a squeeze of lime.
This recipe clocks in at roughly 1 g of added sugar, plus if you eat the blackberries you get 1 gram of fibre as well!
Basic but bitter: a no-sugar non-alcoholic drink
My own go-to for something easy and low-sugar is bitters and soda. Bitters have zero sugar in them, and depending on your level of ‘sober curiosity’ you have two options.
The first option is to use non-alcoholic bitters. There’s a line of zero-alcohol bitters called All The Bitters in four or five styles of bitters. 5-6 drops of All The Bitters in soda water on ice is a refreshing and low-sugar non-alcoholic option.
The second option is to use regular bitters, if you’re comfortable with them. Regular bitters are 40% ABV, but when only a few drops are used, it’s a negligible impact and usually under 0.5% ABV (do this ONLY if consuming alcohol is not an issue).
The reason I LOVE this option is because there are literally dozens of flavours of bitters on the market, and dozens of flavours of sugar-free sparkling water to choose from. It’s fun to experiment with them, for instance, using chili bitters in lime sparkling water gives a margarita vibe.
Non-alcoholic wine & sugar by the numbers
LOW SUGAR WINES
Click here for our list of low-sugar non-alcoholic wines.
One standard glass of wine is 5 oz or 150ml. Most non-alcoholic wines still have roughly 3-4g/sugar per 100ml, give or take depending on the brand, and sparkling is a lot higher. This is pretty standard across the board. It’s almost impossible to make a zero-sugar wine without completely stripping the flavour. It’s a good estimate to say a glass of non-alcoholic wine is going to be approximately the same amount of sugar as a bowl of strawberries.
The overall verdict for wine is: this is all about finding balance. Enjoy a glass or two of ANY non-alcoholic wine if you’re dining on a low-carb and low-starch meal like steak and steamed veggies, so you can enjoy the indulgence in the glass as part of your meal!
Low-sugar premixed non-alcoholic mocktails
You can practically find any non-alcoholic cocktail in a ready-to-drink canned format and although they’re pretty tasty, most premixed options are very high in sugar. One can of premixed Daquiri I once tried had 28g of sugar per can. Cans like Parch have 21g of sugar per 8 oz. I usually aim for less than 1g of sugar per liquid oz as a benchmark for ‘low sugar’.
Here is a short list of low-sugar options for canned mocktails (and hint - they aren’t at your grocery store….).
Recess Lime Margarita, 5g/12oz can - this low-sugar margarita mocktail is great tasting because its sweetened with agave instead of stevia or artificial sweeteners, which always adds a weird tang to drinks
Kin Bloom, 3g/8oz can - this product is the OG of ‘functional mocktails’; they taste delicious (not overly sweet or bitter), and have a gentle calming effect due to the l-theanine and ashwaghanda in them.
Hiyo Seltzers, 5g/12oz can - these actually can be found at Wegmans in a variety of flavours and styles, but be aware they are also functional drinks. They have active ingredients like ashwaghanda in them, although in very low quantities.
As mentioned above, it’s really about finding balance. My current favourite Italian spritz drink (St. Regis Spritz) is very high in sugar, but I’m sure I’ll find a way to have a glass here or there as a treat. As my own taste buds start to ‘de-sugar’ I’m sure I’ll start finding things sweeter than I remembered them, and I will probably have to re-visit some of my wine reviews. But in the meantime, you will find me for a few weeks with a home-made bitters and soda in my hand while I’m detoxing from the sweeter side of drinks!
