I hate to be that person but mocktails don't cut it.

Just count the calories, and be mindful of the drink munchies! I'm quite fond of flavoured vodka and soda water, tastes just like the canned hard seltzers.

It’s so simple it’s right in front of you. It’s all about moderation. I have one or two light beers a night and only a shot or two on the weekends. And yes! I log them. I’m not seeing any issues with weight loss. But that’s because my calorie deficit is always in check at the end of the day.

I don't partake in alcohol very much, a few cocktails a month basically but there was one night that a friend and I finished most of a bottle of Dalmore scotch whisky and non of these factored into my weight either the day of or any day after, so a non issue for me. My go to cocktail is a gin martini made with Citadelle Gin from France. Mocktails make no sense to me whatsoever, so they are also a non issue for me.

Mocktails are often too sweet for me, but occasionally I've found some that aren't bad (focus on sour and/or bitter). Big fan of the more bitter(sweet) types of non alcoholic aperitif options (Crodino, 0% Aperol). And although I'm not a beer drinker, I have been drinking a lot more non alcoholic beer since the options in local bars and restaurants have grown (and soft drinks are too sweet/not a good combo with food).

I do still drink alcohol occasionally, once or twice a month - it's not so much the influence on my weight that motivates me (although fitting in my favorite types of alcohol would be tricky on a more frequent basis), but rather how it affects my workouts. I can really feel my performance and recovery tank and my fitness tracker also clearly shows the effects.
Side note, but I've also found that alcohol on a full stomach has fewer side effects for me (Irish coffee as dessert) compared to drinking on an empty stomach (aperitif before eating).

The 'non alcoholic alcohol' mentioned above doesn't tempt me at all - I don't particularly like the buzz of alcohol.

I’m going to pipe in with my opinion that the point of mocktails is zero alcohol, not zero calories.

And there are many reasons why someone might want to reduce or eliminate alcohol consumption besides calorie intake.

MargaretYakoda wrote: »

I’m going to pipe in with my opinion that the point of mocktails is zero alcohol, not zero calories.

And there are many reasons why someone might want to reduce or eliminate alcohol consumption besides calorie intake.

Also, even though I like alcoholic beverages sometimes and haven't felt the need to fully omit them from my life so far . . . I like the trend that it's now common to have the option of mocktails in restaurants, including interesting recipes aimed at varied adult palates.

Sometime I don't feel like alcohol, or it doesn't work well in that day's plans, but it can still be fun to have that burst of interesting flavors in a special beverage . . . they're not all super-sweet, but it's still a bit like a drinkable treat/dessert.

Probably if I thought of them as a sub-par alternative to a cocktail, I'd feel differently. But I just think of them as a possible enjoyable beverage choice.

I've been avoiding alcohol entirely for a while since a recent head injury. Out with a big group of friends at a restaurant/brew pub to celebrate my 69th birthday (less than a week after being in neurology ICU 😬!), I chose not exactly a mocktail, but one of their craft soda/pop options. I don't usually drink soda/pop (too sweet for me, especially with food), but the nicely tart-sweet, mildly spicy Apple/Ginger/Turmeric soda was delicious. I even had two! 😋

@greatgrapes234 - re cocktails don’t cut it.. what does alcohol do for you? Help you relax? If a mocktail “isn’t cutting it” I’d reflect on why you need alcohol.

Realized I didn't answer OP's question about low-calorie cocktail options.

Vodka isn't the only possibility. Most of the plain clear liquors are reasonably close in calories: Vodka, rum, whisky, tequila, etc. If you prefer ones with minimal flavor, then sure, vodka.

Many people, seems like moderns especially, prefer sweet cocktails, maybe very sweet. Things like sugar-free syrups (like the ones used in coffee drinks) might help with that. Add some sparking water or similar if you want more volume plus fizz, garnish or complement with citrus, berries or similar if you wish. Or keep it simple, and and just combine liquor with sugar free soda/pop.

I don't mostly like sweet cocktails. I'd use something like flavored bitters. If you look online, there are lots of flavors. They're not necessarily mega-bitter, and while they do contain alcohol too, it only takes a few drops (very concentrated flavor) so IMO no big deal calorically. Some of my favorite bitters are grapefruit, smoked orange, cucumber, cranberry. I had a burnt apple chicory one that was amazing, but no longer made. I'd normally add sparkling water, and a citrus wedge or a suitable muddled herbs or spices.

I use some of the same bitters to flavor sparkling water, even without alcohol. A bottle of bitters can be expensive, but using so little per drink, it lasts a long time. There are also sampler sets of small bottles.

Be creative: Experiment. What's the worst that could happen? One bad drink? Meh.

Some will blanch at this, but for my tastes, one of the best cocktails I ever made was mostly a happy accident. I'd roasted a large,
whole heirloom Winter squash that was much juicier than my usual favorite variety. When it was fully roasted, the baking sheet had a lot of liquid left on it. While I prepped the squash meat for freezing, I dumped the juice into a glass baking dish and stuck it in the hot oven to reduce.

When that had happened, I had a nice syrup, rich but bit super sweet, orange-brown color. I poured it in a wine glass that was handy, added some rye whisky to complement the flavor, and topped up the glass with plain sparkling water and ice. So good!

If I ever have another good-tasting squash that's extra-juicy, I'd do it again for sure. Might drop a couple of whole cloves in the juice while it was reducing, to see how that went. It wouldn't be low-cal if I did it, but I'd bet some cream in there would be good, too. YMMV.