SUMMER SIPS THAT BEAT THE SWEET
These ready-to-drink cocktails deliver on taste but aren’t overloaded with sugar,
Is there sugar in your booze? It’s hard to know, given that most countries (including ours) don’t require nutritional labels on alcohol.
Which is sort of strange, if you consider that sugar is increasingly being classified as a health risk, and the LCBO routinely tests products in its quality assurance lab for things such as pesticide residues and ethanol levels. Over the past several years, there have been calls in other countries for transparency, ever since it came out that certain brands in some spirits categories, notably rum and tequila, may contain added sugar.
Until we see a change in legislation, though, it’s largely up to the producers to voluntarily disclose this information.
By and large, the ones that do are the ones that use little or no sugar. Case in point: Aware Beverages, which makes Social Lite canned cocktails, have “Nutrition Facts” labels right on the package — the only nutritional labels I ever recall seeing. Crazier still is the fact that Social Lite is low in salt, carbs, calories and entirely sugar free.
That’s a pretty sharp turn for a canned cocktail, given that the ready-to-drink category (a.k.a. alco-pop) is rife with sugary beverages, artificial flavours and sub- standard booze.
Social Lite is happy to point out the difference between its product and the “leading cooler,” which it doesn’t name but claims has 33 grams of sugar.
If that’s true, that’s just shy of CocaCola’s sugar content, a drink most of us would limit to one serving. But dockside, on a sunny weekend afternoon, you might just want a second cocktail.
To that end, here is a roundup of booze options that boast less than 30 g of carbohydrates (sugars) per can (all numbers have been adjusted to reflect a 355 millilitres serving):
Social Lite Pineapple Mango (LCBO 491191; $9.95/4-pack) 0 g carbohydrates/80 calories/355 mL serving.
Given that there’s no sugar whatsoever, Social Lite’s Pineapple Mango tastes better than it ought to. It’s dry and sparkly enough, although the flavour profile is reminiscent of Malibu Rum’s slightly waxy pina colada flavour. Could use a hit of mango.
Georgian Bay Vodka Smash (LCBO 491183; $2.95/473 mL) 16.5 g carbohydrates/201 calories/355 mL serving.
Crisp, clean and clear, Georgian Bay’s Vodka Smash is another standout, just like last year’s Gin Smash, which was such a hit that it sold out halfway through the summer. The new vodka offering has 22 grams of sugar but, keep in mind, it’s 473 mL, so, per 355 mL serving, it would only be 16.5 grams. The low sugar levels are probably what keeps it on the refreshing side of the cooler divide. (Gin Smash lovers, take note: the calorie and sugar counts are right in line with these.) Cabana Coast Vodka Greyhound (LCBO 491735; $3.30/473 mL) 18 g carbohydrates; 159 calories/355 mL serving.
The hue is closer to orange than ruby red but the aroma and flavour of the Cabana Coast Vodka Greyhound is remarkably close to real grapefruit. With its tart taste and slightly bitter finish, it is definitely one of the best canned cocktails on the market. Adjusted for size (it’s also tall), it weighs in at 18 g of sugar per 355 mL. Smirnoff Red Sangria (LCBO 491735; $3.30/473mL) 18 g carbohydrates/ 159 calories/355 mL serving.
If you drank this in a blind taste test, you might imagine it was an Italian soda, like a Brio Chinotto, as opposed to what it’s labelled as, namely, Smirnoff Red Sangria. There’s certainly no wine involved in this drink, but, hey, we like Brio and this has about 20 g of sugar, adjusted for size. Dusty Boots Orange Cream (LCBO 491670; $14.95/6-pack) 16 g carbohydrates/182 calories/355 mL serving.
No question that the Dusty Boots Orange Cream is a faithful rendition of the classic soda fountain treat, except spiked with booze. If you’re in the market for that kind of cocktail, there’s a good chance you don’t care about calories and sugar count. Surprisingly, this drink is on the lighter side with only 16 g of sugar per can. Dixon’s Gin Fusion (LCBO 491159; $2.85/473 mL) Estimated at16 to19 g carbohydrates/less than 200 calories/355 mL serving.
This canned gin cocktail is so new that the tests from the lab haven’t even come in yet. So sugar/calorie levels are estimates, but the producers have told us that their own, unofficial tests suggest they’re about half the levels of the leading cooler, which puts it under 20 g. It’s not cloying and has a pleasantly spicy ginger kick, minty freshness and a light hint of cucumber pulling it all together. Smirnoff Ice (LCBO 321786; $10/4pack) 26 g carbohydrate/204 calories/ 330 mL serving.
If you’ve ever witnessed a Toronto bartender suddenly stop everything, drop to one knee and drain an entire bottle of Smirnoff Ice in one long gulp, you may have wondered about his or her lifestyle choices. Relax, though, it’s just part of the “Icing” game, a little prank that our city’s bar staff like play on each other. The rules are simple: If you find a bottle, you must chug it in one gulp. Fail to drink it and you owe everyone in your Icing league a bottle — plus you get penalty time and aren’t allowed to ice anyone else for 24 hours. Bragging rights are the best prize, though, since bartenders take great pains to try to “Ice” people by hiding bottles in supercreative places where they are likely to be found at the least opportune moment.