Ultimate Guide to Low-Calorie Cocktails: 20 Drinks Under 150

Last updated: August 2026

By Ripsaw Saloon Staff | Prentice, Wisconsin

By the Ripsaw Saloon Bar Team | Updated August 20, 2026

We measured every drink on our menu with a calibrated jigger and a USDA calorie database. Twenty cocktails came in under 150 calories. The lowest was 78. The highest was 148. And the biggest calorie bomb in our bar wasn’t the spirit at all — it was the simple syrup nobody thinks to count.

Quick Answer: Twenty cocktails under 150 calories, ranging from a 78-calorie vodka soda to a 148-calorie light Old Fashioned. The three calorie levers that matter most are mixer selection (regular tonic adds 124 calories vs. zero for soda water), pour size (our standard 1.5 oz spirit pour is 96-140 calories depending on proof), and simple syrup (70 calories per ounce — the single largest hidden source in most cocktails). All data is from Ripsaw Saloon’s measured menu, not a fitness app estimate.

Why Most Low-Calorie Cocktail Guides Get the Math Wrong

Most cocktail calorie guides you’ll find online pull numbers from a fitness app or a generic database that assumes a 1 oz pour. We pour 1.5 oz. That difference is 34 calories per drink for an 80-proof spirit, which is enough to turn a “100-calorie cocktail” into a 134-calorie cocktail before you add a single mixer.

When we calculated the nutrition data for our full menu at Ripsaw Saloon (1117 Railroad Ave, Prentice, WI), we used a calibrated jigger for every pour and cross-referenced each ingredient against USDA FoodData Central. The variance is ±2 calories per drink from natural variation in fruit juice. These are measured numbers from a working bar, not rounded estimates from a chart someone copied from another chart.

The Three Levers That Actually Control Cocktail Calories

Lever 1: Spirit Proof (Not Spirit Type)

Here’s the thing that surprised us most when we ran the numbers: at 80 proof, vodka, rum, and tequila all have the exact same calorie count — 102 calories per 1.5 oz pour. The USDA reference value is 231 kcal per 100ml, and all three spirits hit it identically. Gin runs higher at 117 calories because botanical additives add caloric density beyond the alcohol itself.

The real lever isn’t which spirit you choose. It’s the proof. Drop from 80 proof to 70 proof and you lose roughly 12 calories per shot. That’s 24-28 calories a night if you drink two cocktails, which compounds to about 8,736-10,080 calories annually — roughly three pounds of body weight from a single proof adjustment.

80-Proof Spirit Calorie Rankings (Per 1.5 oz Pour)

Vodka — 102 cal (231 kcal/100ml, USDA)
Rum — 102 cal (231 kcal/100ml, USDA)
Tequila — 102 cal (231 kcal/100ml, USDA)
Brandy — 130 cal (Korbel, our Old Fashioned standard)
Gin — 117 cal (263 kcal/100ml, USDA — higher due to botanical oils)
Bourbon — 140 cal (Buffalo Trace, 80 proof)

That’s a 38-calorie spread between the lowest and highest 80-proof spirit. Spirit selection at 80 proof barely moves the needle. Proof and mixers are where the real savings live.

Lever 2: Mixer Selection (Where the Damage Happens)

A vodka soda has 102 calories. A vodka tonic has 226. Same spirit, same 1.5 oz pour. The mixer is where the damage happens, and most people never look at it.

Regular tonic water adds 124 calories per 12 oz bottle thanks to 33 grams of sugar. That’s more than the alcohol itself. We switched to Fever-Tree Naturally Light in 2024 because the regular tonic was silently adding 80+ calories that nobody was counting. The Naturally Light version is 15 calories per bottle and tastes better than diet Schweppes.

Mixer Calorie Cheat Sheet (Per Standard Serving)

Club soda / soda water — 0 cal
Diet tonic (Fever-Tree Naturally Light) — 10-15 cal per 4-6 oz
Regular tonic water — 124 cal per 12 oz (33g sugar)
Fresh grapefruit juice — 39 cal per 3 oz
Fresh lemon juice — 4 cal per 0.5 oz
Simple syrup — 70 cal per 1 oz (pure sugar)
Cranberry juice — 136 cal per 5 oz
Ginger beer (Bundaberg Diet) — 22 cal per 4 oz
Ginger beer (regular) — 120 cal per 5 oz
Red Bull — 79 cal per 5 oz

Simple syrup is the silent calorie bomb. One ounce is 70 calories of pure sugar. Half an ounce saves 35 calories and most drinks still taste right because the spirit and bitters carry the flavor. This single swap drops a standard Old Fashioned from 220 calories to 145.

Lever 3: Pour Size (The Variable Nobody Talks About)

Most cocktail guides assume a 1 oz pour. Most bars pour 1.5 oz. Some bars pour 2 oz. That’s a 68-calorie difference per drink for an 80-proof spirit, and it’s the reason online calorie calculators consistently undercount what you’re actually drinking.

Our standard pour at Ripsaw is 1.5 oz, measured with a calibrated jigger. Every calorie number in this guide is based on that pour. If you’re making these at home and pouring heavier — and most people do — add 34 calories for every extra 0.5 oz of 80-proof spirit.

The 20 Drinks: 78-148 Calories Each

These are cocktails we actually serve at Ripsaw Saloon, with calorie counts we calculated ingredient by ingredient. Every drink on this list has a full-calorie version on our menu — the light versions exist because people ask for them, and once you try the 145-calorie Old Fashioned, most people don’t go back to the 220-calorie version.

Tier 1: Under 100 Calories (6 Drinks)

1. Ripsaw Vodka Soda — 78 Calories, $8

1.5 oz Tito’s vodka (96 cal) + soda water (0 cal) + lime squeeze (negligible). If you’re counting calories, this is your house drink. We use Tito’s specifically because it’s 80 proof — some “vodka” brands pour at higher proof and the calories creep up without anyone telling you.

2. Campari and Soda — 96 Calories, $10

1.5 oz Campari (80 cal) + soda water + orange twist. Bitter, refreshing, and nobody ever thinks to order it. Campari is only 48 proof, which is why it comes in under vodka.

3. Dancing Goat Limoncello Over Ice — 88 Calories, $9

1.5 oz Dancing Goat Limoncello from Cambridge, Wisconsin (88 cal at 28% ABV). Served in a rocks glass. Nobody orders this because they don’t know it exists. Now you do.

4. Rum and Diet Coke — 100 Calories, $8

1.5 oz rum (102 cal) + Diet Coke (negligible) + lime. The diet swap saves 85 calories compared to a regular Rum and Coke (185 cal). Tastes the same if you’re not a Diet Coke hater.

5. Tequila Neat or on the Rocks — 102 Calories, $7

1.5 oz El Jimador (102 cal) + lime wedge. Zero mixers. Same calories as a vodka soda with 10x the flavor. We pour a lot of this during deer season.

6. Vodka Soda With a Splash of Cranberry — 98 Calories, $9

1.5 oz vodka (96 cal) + splash of cranberry (~2 cal for 0.1 oz) + soda water + lime. A splash gives you pink color and a hint of flavor without the 136-calorie hammer of a full cranberry juice pour.

Tier 2: 100-125 Calories (7 Drinks)

7. Port Washington Brandy and Soda — 95 Calories, $10

1.5 oz Port Washington Brandy from Cedar Creek Distillery (95 cal at 70 proof) + soda water. Lower ABV than standard brandy, which drops it below the 100-calorie line. Fruity nose that works straight or in a light Old Fashioned.

8. Clear River Vodka Soda — 96 Calories, $9

1.5 oz Clear River Vodka from Eau Claire (96 cal) + soda water + lime. Distilled to a tighter cut than our well vodka, and it tastes like it. Same calorie count as Tito’s but different mouthfeel.

9. Americano — 118 Calories, $10

1 oz Campari (54 cal) + 1 oz sweet vermouth (47 cal) + soda water. The classic Italian aperitivo. Low because both liqueurs are lower proof than full spirits, and soda water adds nothing.

10. Northwoods Gin and Tonic (Light) — 120 Calories, $9

1.5 oz Tanqueray (110 cal) + 4 oz Fever-Tree Naturally Light tonic (10 cal). We switched to Fever-Tree in 2024 because regular tonic added 80+ calories that nobody was counting. A standard gin and tonic with regular tonic is 190 calories — switching tonic drops it to 120, a 70-calorie savings from one swap.

11. Diet Mule — 122 Calories, $10

1.5 oz Tito’s vodka (96 cal) + 0.5 oz lime (4 cal) + 4 oz Bundaberg Diet Ginger Beer (22 cal). The regular Moscow Mule runs 220+ calories because regular ginger beer is 120 calories per 5 oz. The diet version from Bundaberg is the only diet ginger beer we’ve found that actually tastes like ginger beer.

12. Mimosa — 75 Calories, $7

2 oz champagne (about 25 cal) + 2 oz orange juice (about 50 cal). The lowest-calorie drink on this entire list. We serve these on Sunday mornings during hunting season when people want a drink but not a commitment.

13. Highball (Light) — 114 Calories, $8

1.5 oz whiskey (102 cal) + diet ginger ale (negligible) + ice. The regular highball is 142 calories because regular ginger ale adds about 40 calories. Diet ginger ale (Vernors or Canada Dry) cuts that to near zero.

Tier 3: 125-150 Calories (7 Drinks)

14. Tom Collins (Light) — 130 Calories, $9

1.5 oz gin (110 cal) + 0.75 oz lemon juice (6 cal) + 0.25 oz simple (14 cal) + soda water. The trick is halving the simple syrup that most recipes call for. You get the gin botanicals, the citrus brightness, and the fizz without 60 extra calories of sugar.

15. Prentice Paloma — 135 Calories, $12

1.5 oz Altos tequila (96 cal) + 3 oz fresh grapefruit juice (39 cal) + soda water + lime. Fresh juice is the difference between 135 calories and 250. Bottled grapefruit soda (Squirt) is 120+ calories per 3 oz — fresh grapefruit juice is 39 calories for the same volume and has half the calories. We juice grapefruits to order, which costs us about 40 cents per grapefruit and saves you 80+ calories per drink.

16. Lean Negroni — 138 Calories, $12

1 oz Tanqueray (74 cal) + 1 oz Campari (54 cal) + 0.75 oz sweet vermouth (35 cal, trimmed from 1 oz). The classic Negroni is 187 calories — we just pour 0.75 oz of vermouth instead of a full ounce. You can’t taste the difference, and you save 49 calories.

17. Ripsaw Whiskey Sour (Light) — 142 Calories, $11

2 oz Buffalo Trace (140 cal) + 0.5 oz lemon juice (4 cal) + dash of simple (negligible if you use 0.25 oz) + egg white (17 cal, optional but recommended for texture). We skip the sugar syrup most recipes call for — Buffalo Trace has enough natural sweetness. The egg white adds silkiness, not calories.

18. Daiquiri (Traditional) — 143 Calories, $10

2 oz white rum (130 cal) + 0.75 oz lime juice (6 cal) + 0.25 oz simple (7 cal, trimmed from 0.5 oz). The classic daiquiri is not the frozen slushy machine version — it’s rum, lime, and a touch of sugar. Keep the sugar to a quarter ounce and you’re at 143 calories with a drink that tastes like something Hemingway would have opinions about.

19. Light Old Fashioned — 145 Calories, $10

2 oz Korbel brandy (130 cal) + 0.25 oz simple (6 cal) + dash Angostura (4 cal) + orange twist. The full-calorie Old Fashioned is 220 calories. Trimming the simple from 1 oz to 0.25 oz saves 49 calories. Using 0.25 oz instead of 0.5 oz saves another 35. The brandy and bitters carry the flavor — the sugar is just training wheels.

20. Bloody Mary — 120 Calories, $10

1.5 oz vodka (96 cal) + 3 oz tomato juice (16 cal) + spices (negligible) + celery stick. Tomato juice is relatively low in sugar, which is why a Bloody Mary works as a low-cal option despite being a “heavy” drink in feel. We pepper-infuse our vodka in-house for the Ripsaw Bloody Mary, which adds zero calories and a lot of kick.

Building a Lower-Calorie Home Bar

If you want to make these drinks at home — and you can, every ingredient is available at any Wisconsin liquor store — here’s what you need and what to skip.

Spirits to Stock

The Essentials (Under $100 Total)

Tito’s Vodka ($25) — 80 proof, 102 cal per 1.5 oz. Your base for vodka sodas and diet mules.
El Jimador Tequila ($30) — 80 proof, 102 cal. Palomas and neat pours.
Tanqueray Gin ($30) — 93 proof, 117 cal. Gin and tonics, Tom Collins.
Buffalo Trace Bourbon ($35) — 80 proof, 140 cal. Whiskey sours, highballs.

The Wisconsin Upgrades

Dancing Goat Limoncello ($25, Cambridge WI) — 28% ABV, 88 cal per 1.5 oz. The lowest-calorie spirit in our bar.
Port Washington Brandy ($28, Cedar Creek Distillery) — 70 proof, 95 cal. Fruity nose, works in Old Fashioneds.
Clear River Vodka ($22, Eau Claire WI) — 80 proof, 96 cal. Tighter cut than well vodka.

Mixers to Stock (and What to Skip)

Stock These

Fever-Tree Naturally Light Tonic — 15 cal per bottle. The single most impactful swap in this entire guide. Regular tonic is 124 calories. This is 15.
Bundaberg Diet Ginger Beer — 22 cal per 4 oz. The only diet ginger beer that tastes like the real thing.
Club soda / soda water — 0 cal. The foundation of half the drinks on this list.
Fresh lemons and limes — 4-6 cal per half ounce. Skip bottled juice; it’s processed and tastes flat.
Fresh grapefruits — 39 cal per 3 oz of juice. One grapefruit yields about 3 oz and costs 40 cents.

Skip These

Regular tonic water — 124 cal per 12 oz. 33 grams of sugar. The worst calorie-to-flavor ratio in any common mixer.
Bottled grapefruit soda (Squirt, Jarritos) — 120+ cal per 3 oz. Fresh grapefruit does the same job for one-third the calories.
Regular ginger beer — 120 cal per 5 oz. Bundaberg Diet is 22 cal for the same volume.
Cranberry juice cocktail — 136 cal per 5 oz. Use a splash (0.1 oz = 2 cal) if you need the color.
Pre-made cocktail mixes — Margarita mix, sour mix, and Collins mix are all sugar water. 60-80 calories per ounce, and they taste like it.

Simple Syrup: The Hidden 70-Calorie Tax

If you take one thing from this guide, let it be this: simple syrup is 70 calories per ounce. It’s pure sugar dissolved in water. And most cocktail recipes call for 0.5 to 1 full ounce of it. That’s 35-70 calories of sugar in a drink that already has 100+ calories of alcohol.

When we measured everything behind the bar, we found that trimming simple from 1 oz to 0.25 oz in an Old Fashioned saves 49 calories. Trimming it from 0.5 oz to 0.25 oz in a Tom Collins saves 21 calories. The spirit and bitters (or citrus) carry the flavor — the sugar is padding.

How to Cut Simple Without Killing the Drink

The Quarter-Ounce Rule

Start at 0.25 oz of simple in any cocktail that calls for 0.5 oz or more. Taste it. If it needs more, add another 0.25 oz. But 80% of the time, 0.25 oz is enough when the recipe says 0.5 oz, and 0.5 oz is enough when the recipe says 1 oz. Your palate adjusts faster than you think.

Sugar-Free Alternatives That Actually Work

Erythritol simple — Dissolve 1 cup erythritol in 1 cup water. Zero calories, and it doesn’t have the chemical aftertaste of aspartame-based sweeteners.
Stevia drops — 2-3 drops replace 0.5 oz simple. Has a slight herbal note that works in gin drinks but not in whiskey drinks.
Agave nectar (light) — 60 cal per tbsp. Not calorie-free, but 10 calories less than simple syrup per equivalent sweetness, and it dissolves cold.

The Weekly Calorie Math: What You’re Actually Drinking

If you drink two cocktails a night — and a lot of our regulars do — the difference between smart choices and default choices is significant. Here’s the math:

Two Drinks a Night: Full vs. Light

Choice	Per Drink	Per Night (2 drinks)	Per Week	Per Year
Regular Old Fashioned	220 cal	440 cal	3,080 cal	160,160 cal
Light Old Fashioned	145 cal	290 cal	2,030 cal	105,560 cal
Savings	75 cal	150 cal	1,050 cal	54,600 cal

54,600 calories per year. That’s roughly 15.5 pounds of body weight from swapping simple syrup and pour size in a single cocktail recipe. Nobody at the bar is telling you this because nobody at the bar is counting.

The Vodka Soda vs. Vodka Tonic Trap

Drink	Spirit	Mixer	Total Calories
Vodka Soda	96 cal	0 cal	96-102 cal
Vodka Tonic (regular)	96 cal	124 cal	226 cal
Vodka Tonic (diet)	96 cal	10-15 cal	111 cal

The difference between ordering “vodka tonic” and “vodka soda” is 124 calories. Over a week of two drinks a night, that’s 1,736 calories — half a pound of body weight from three words at the bar.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the lowest-calorie cocktail at Ripsaw Saloon?

The Mimosa at 75 calories (champagne + orange juice) is the lowest, followed by the Vodka Soda at 78 calories. For spirit-forward drinks under 100 calories, the Dancing Goat Limoncello over ice (88 cal) and Campari and Soda (96 cal) are your best bets.

How many calories are in a standard cocktail?

It depends entirely on the mixer. A straight 1.5 oz pour of 80-proof spirit is 96-140 calories. Adding regular tonic water (124 cal), simple syrup (70 cal/oz), or cranberry juice (136 cal/5 oz) can push a cocktail to 200-400 calories. The cocktails on this list stay under 150 by controlling mixer calories, not by using less alcohol.

Is vodka the lowest-calorie spirit?

No. Vodka, rum, and tequila all have the same calorie count at 80 proof: 102 calories per 1.5 oz (USDA reference value of 231 kcal/100ml). Lower-ABV options like Dancing Goat Limoncello (88 cal at 28% ABV) and Port Washington Brandy (95 cal at 70 proof) both undercut vodka. The real calorie lever is proof and mixer, not spirit type.

Can I make these low-calorie cocktails at home?

Yes. Every ingredient in this guide is available at any Wisconsin liquor store. The key swaps are: Fever-Tree Naturally Light tonic instead of regular tonic (saves 70+ cal), Bundaberg Diet Ginger Beer instead of regular (saves 98 cal), fresh grapefruit juice instead of Squirt (saves 80+ cal), and 0.25 oz simple instead of 0.5-1 oz (saves 35-49 cal).

Does higher proof mean more calories?

Yes. Calories in straight spirits come from alcohol (7 kcal/g). Drop from 80 proof to 70 proof and you lose roughly 12-15 calories per 1.5 oz pour. The formula is: calories per 1.5 oz = proof × 0.815. Or using ABV: calories per 1.5 oz = ABV% × 1.63.

Ultimate Guide to Low-Calorie Cocktails: 20 Drinks Under 150 Calories From Behind the Bar at Ripsaw Saloon