If you’re practicing setting realistic New Year’s Resolutions this year, then your resolution might be to go to the gym twice per week instead of every day of the week...or, to opt for more health-conscious drinks instead of cutting out alcohol entirely.
Mindful drinking is completely realistic if you’re willing to pay attention to the calories, sugar and ABV of your drink(s) of choice.
But you don’t have to spend hours researching the best light sips on your own! Keep scrolling for a complete guide to the tastiest wines, spirits and ready-to-drink cocktails for anyone watching what they drink in the new year.
What’s the number one ingredient worth watching in what alcohol you drink? Well, alcohol, of course. Opting for lower ABV (alcohol by volume) beverages usually means you’re consuming fewer calories and grams of sugar as well. Don’t think that “light” means less flavor or complexity, though! These sips may be lower in ABV, but they don’t compromise on taste.
If you find that a glass of wine gives you a headache, it might be because of the high sugar content. You might not think of wine as a sugary beverage, but a glass of some sweeter wines can contain as much, or even more sugar than a can of Coca-Cola! This is because some wines have high residual sugar content, which is the natural sugar from the grapes that’s left behind after fermentation.
Luckily, there are plenty of delicious wines with low residual sugar levels. Choose your favorite varietal and get to sipping.
Bad news, cocktail drinkers: you're most likely to fall into the habit of consuming drinks with high sugar and caloric content. Why? Mostly because of the mixers: think sugary juices, sodas and mixes.
The easiest way to cut through the noise is to enjoy a low-calorie, ready-to-drink beverage. No risk of heavy-handed pours or mixers with sneaky added sugars, just simple goodness in a variety of flavors. The ready-to-drink category has excelled so much in the past few years that there’s probably a canned or bottled version of your favorite cocktail that tastes just as good as a freshly prepared one.
Don’t believe us? Give one of these a try.
THC drinks are the newest products to hit the adult beverage scene, but these alternative cocktails are no passing craze. Plenty of folks who don’t react well to alcohol or simply don’t care for the taste are finding that THC drinks give them a pleasurable buzz that they enjoy.
If you’re hesitant to try THC beverages, you can read up on them here or stop into your local ABC Fine Wine & Spirits to ask a team member about where to start.
Are you more of a straight spirit sipper? If so, tequila is your best friend for mindful drinking. Pure, additive-free tequila has zero sugar and carbs and just 100 calories per shot. (Sorry, whiskey and rum drinkers: brown spirits tend to have more calories than clear spirits like vodka, tequila and gin.)
There’s no shortage of high-quality, highly rated, complex tequilas to explore, but these are a few of our favorites.
Looking to cut back even further? Discover the best drinks to choose from when you’re avoiding sugar.
