5 Low Calorie Cocktails with Bourbon

Cocktails with bourbon don’t have to be high in in calories! In this article you’ll find 5 low calorie bourbon cocktail recipes so you can enjoy your favorite cocktail without blowing your diet.

These 5 bourbon drink recipes range from a low calorie Manhattan, to a skinny Sidecar. You’ll even find a 104 calorie Old Fashioned cocktail recipe.

These 5 mixed bourbon drinks have been reworked without compromising taste, or their basic ingredients. This way you can save calories without losing anything… including potency and flavor.

Find your favorite mixed drink with bourbon below, they’re lower in calories and just as strong and tasty as the original.

5 Low Calorie Cocktails with Bourbon

Bourbon cocktails are great for parties, or just for enjoying a homemade happy hour.

All 5 of these drinks with bourbon have been reworked with ingredients like all natural, zero calorie simple syrup, so that they taste the same. But for up to 1/2 of the calories.

Some recipes for bourbon drinks call for zero calorie, all natural Ginger Beer and other low calorie bourbon mixers… But the alcohol amounts and qualities have not changed.

Here’s What You’ll Find in This Article:

1. Sidecar Bourbon Cocktail Recipe (180 calories)
2. Highball Bourbon Drink (131 calories)
3. Manhattan Bourbon Cocktail Recipe (156 calories)
4. Mint Julep Bourbon Drink (131 calories)
5. Manhattan Bourbon Cocktail Recipe (104 calories)

Before we get to the 5 bourbon mixed drinks… I’d like to address the elephant in the room. Yes, this is a weight loss recipe site, and yes alcohol can hurt your weight loss efforts. But do you know what’s worse than one cocktail? Depriving yourself to the point that you give up on your diet and start binge eating (and drinking) everything you’ve been craving.

So I created these 5 low calorie drinks with bourbon, so you can enjoy your favorite cocktail without blowing your diet. They pack quite the punch so one will be enough, and you can easily fit one of these low calorie cocktails into you daily calories on on a Friday night.

Below you will find the best bourbon cocktails, for fewer calories!

1. Sidecar Bourbon Cocktail Recipe

No list of classic bourbon cocktails could be complete without the Sidecar. This bourbon cocktails recipe dates back to World War 1 where it appeared in two cookbooks (“Harry’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails” by Harry MacElhone and “Cocktails and How to Mix Them” by Robert Vermeire) published in 1922.

It is the highest in calories of these 5 bourbon mixed drinks… but it’s still low enough to stay on your diet plan. And as one of the best bourbon drinks of all time, it couldn’t go overlooked.

Special Tip: If you don’t have a Cocktail Shaker, just mix the ingredients in a clean glass. Top with ice, and use a strainer (or slotted kitchen spoon) to slowly transfer the low calorie bourbon cocktail to the glass you’ll be serving it in.

More bourbon cocktails and what to drink with bourbon up next… don’t forget to scroll down to #5. It’s only 104 calories!

2. Highball Bourbon Cocktail Recipe

It’s been noted that the Highball bourbon drink recipe was brought to the U.S. in 1894! The ginger bourbon combination has been a long time favorite drink recipes with bourbon, and I was able to cut enough calories to make the list.

This bourbon cocktails classic recipe can be made low in calories with one ingredient swap, all natural, zero calorie Ginger Ale.

Special Tip: Try an orange rind to change things up… It adds a punch of freshness and works great when you don’t have lemons.

Cocktail recipes with bourbon range from fizzy, to over ice, and strained into a Martini glass… Like the next of the popular bourbon drinks.

3. Manhattan a Bourbon Cocktails Classic Recipe

One can’t ignore the classic cocktail Manhattan when completing a list of the best cocktails with bourbon. It originated in the mid 1870’s in the Manhattan Club in New York City.

This bourbon mix drink is elegant and strong! So keep it classy and just have one…

Between the bitters, the sweet vermouth and the delicious cocktail cherry (please get cocktail cherries, they make all the difference!) this drink is the perfect upscale, impressive cocktail to make for your guests!

Special Tip: If you like a sweeter drink, dip a spoon in the sticky sauce the cocktail cherries float in and mix it into your drink.

This list will help you try new bourbon cocktails without blowing your diet… Up next, a low calorie Mint Julep drink with bourbon.

4. Mint Julep Drink with Bourbon

The Mint Julep has been the staple drink of the Kentucky Derby. This iconic drink has been popular since it was first noted in literature in 1803, in a book by John Davis’ called “Travels of Four and a Half Years in the United States of America.”

Many bourbon drink recipes are packed with mixers… But not Mint Julep Bourbon Recipes. So watch out, these cocktails with bourbon are strong!

Skip the calories of mixers with bourbon and try a 131 calorie Mint Julep. Just have one though, they are super strong.

Special Tip: Fresh mint is a MUST! It’s the basis of the entire recipe… so be sure to get fresh and skip the dried.

Up next I’ll share the lowest calorie bourbon cocktail recipes… Only 104 calories for this next bourbon cocktail.

5. Old Fashioned Bourbon Cocktails Recipe

The Old Fashioned Bourbon Cocktail was created in 1881 in a Gentleman’s Club in Louisville, Kentucky… But that doesn’t mean it’s just for men. This is my all time favorite bourbon cocktail recipe, and at only 104 calories, I don’t have to sarafice my “girlish figure” to enjoy one.

This next recipe will show you what to mix with bourbon for maximum flavor and minimal calories.

At only 104 calories, these cocktails with bourbon won’t blow your “calorie budget” and will still deliver the elegance of a classic cocktail.

Special Tip: Get REAL cocktail cherries… they make all the difference and celebrate the classic drink to it’s fullest.

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