WAISTLINE expanding again in Margaritaville? With so many popular summer cocktails weighing in at 500-plus calories, it’s enough to send you running for a vodka soda. But while such drinks may be low in calories, they’re not exactly high in excitement.
So how do you get creative at the bar without tipping the scales? Avoid the hidden calories in premade mixers found in liquor stores and beachside blenders, as well as drinks made with multiple spirits (80-proof liquor contains about 65 to 70 calories per ounce — or about 100 calories per standard 11/2-ounce bar shot). And remember, sugar is sugar: Agave syrup may be “natural,” but it contains roughly the same calories as refined sugar. Fresh fruit juice, on the other hand, balances its caloric content with vitamins and flavor.
Here are five summer drinks that won’t have you reaching for a coverup. Some are low/no-sugar takes on classics, others fruit-forward or spice-driven — and all are refreshingly boozy.
The Fresh Grape Crush
$14, Butter Restaurant, 415 Lafayette St.; 212-253-2828
Calories: approximately 185
The Skinny: This yummy, all-natural take on grape soda gives you a sweet vitamin-C boost.
8 seedless red grapes
1½ oz. grape juice
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 oz. Svedka vodka
1 oz. soda water
In mixing glass, muddle grapes. Stir in grape juice and lemon juice. Add vodka and soda water and stir or shake. Pour over ice and garnish with additional grapes, if desired.
The Spicy Lady
$11, JoeDoe, 45 E. First St.; 212-780-0262
Calories: approximately 140
The Skinny: Summery cerveza gets a lemony kick and a seriously spicy finish in this beer cocktail.
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 tbs. raw sugar (plus more for rimming glass)
½ lemon cut into 4 pieces
1 Corona Light or other beer
In mixing glass, muddle lemon, cayenne and sugar. Add splash of hot water and pour into Pilsner glass rimmed with raw sugar. Add ice and beer, and lightly stir. For a nicely balanced variation, swap out lemon for lime, reduce the cayenne pepper by half and add a teaspoon of freshly grated ginger to the muddled mix.
Ginger Fizz
$13, Pravda, 281 Lafayette St.; 212-226-4696
Calories: approximately 155
The Skinny: Said to aid digestion, fresh ginger revs up neutral-tasting vodka in this lo-cal cocktail, which takes a few days to prepare unless you can find ginger vodka.
1½ oz. ginger vodka
3/4 oz. fresh lime juice
1 oz. ginger syrup
soda water
In mixing glass, add ice and all ingredients (except soda). Shake vigorously, pour into tall glass and top with soda. Garnish with ginger slice, if desired. For ginger vodka: Add 1½ cups freshly grated ginger root to 750 ml of vodka and steep for three to four days. For ginger syrup: Bring 2½ cups water, 1 cup fast-dissolving sugar and 1 cup freshly grated ginger root to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes and cool.
At Vermilion’s Lo-Cal Mojito
$12, At Vermilion, 480 Lexington Ave.; 212-871-6600
Calories: approximately 180
The Skinny: At Vermilion serves two lo-cal renditions of the summertime fave — with Splenda simple syrup and without. We preferred the latter, dryer version below.
2½ oz. light rum
3 lime wedges
5 mint leaves
In mixing glass, muddle mint and limes. Add rum and ice and shake well. Strain into chilled martini glass. For something closer to a traditional mojito, add 1 ounce Splenda simple syrup: Dissolve 1 part Splenda into 1 part boiling water and cool. Strain through a coffee filter to remove sediment.
The Brazilian
$14, Rouge Tomate, 10 E. 60th St.; 646-237-8977
Calories: approximately 240
The Skinny: Unlike a 500-plus calorie margarita, this tropical tipple — a caipirinha with a twist — isn’t just empty calories: It’s packed with vitamins C and A, folate and potassium thanks to its smoothie-like fruit blend.
3 limes
2 oz. cachaca
½ oz. agave syrup
2 oz. tropical puree
1 oz. soda water
In mixing glass, muddle limes. Add crushed ice and all ingredients (except soda). Shake vigorously, pour into tall glass and top with soda. For tropical purée, blend and strain pineapple, kiwi, papaya and mango.