When you're watching your calorie intake, remember to count not only the calories you eat, but also the calories you drink. All alcoholic drinks contain calories derived from the alcohol itself, and 100-proof liquor is no exception to this rule.
Caloric Content
Pure alcohol typically contains about 7 calories per gram. A sample of 100-proof liquor is not, however, 100-percent alcohol. In fact, 100-proof liquor contains 50 percent alcohol. So a 20-g shot of liquor would typically contain roughly 10 g of alcohol and about 70 calories.
Considerations
In considering the calories in alcoholic liquor, you should remember that calories may also come from the non-alcoholic part of the drink. Particularly if a liquor is sweetened or flavored -- vanilla or berry-flavored vodka would be one example --, it can add to the overall calorie content of the liquor.
Strategies
In order to reduce the calorie content of the liquor you drink, there are several strategies you can adopt. These include smaller measures of liquor, which will inevitably have a lower calorie content. Putting ice in your drink will reduce calorie content by weight, as will using calorie-free mixers.
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