While even the occasional drinker of alcoholic beverages knows the dangers of drinking too much, you may not be aware that some alcohol contains sugar. Though many alcoholic drinks don't naturally contain a lot sugar, it is there even in your average glass of wine. How much sugar you get out of an alcoholic beverage depends on the kind of alcohol it is and what you mix it with.
Alcohols and Sugar
The amount of sugar in any alcoholic beverage differs, depending on the individual drink. According to HAMS, a not-for-profit information group supporting safe or reduced drinking, the average glass of white wine contains 1.5 g of sugar. A single serving of beer doesn't contain sugar. Similarly, 80-proof spirits or "hard" liquors don't contain sugar, while a glass of red wine contains less than 1 gram.
Sugar and Alcohol
While alcoholic drinks may not have a lot of sugar in them, sugar is integral to the creation of alcohol. Alcohol is created by the fermentation of certain kinds of yeast. Yeast is a living organism that ingests sugars and produces carbon dioxide and ethanol as a byproduct. In wine, for example, grapes that grow in conditions where there is a lot of rain have low sugar, while those grown in drier climates typically have higher sugar concentrations. The best wines come from those area where the grapes have high sugar concentrations, according to the Texas A&M University Bioinformatics Working Group.
Mixers
While many alcoholic drinks do not contain sugar or have trace amounts of it, when you consider a mixed drink that has alcohol added to various other ingredients the sugar content changes. Many mixed drinks include mixers such as sweet and sour mix, a combination of lemon juice, water, sugar or syrup. A single 1 oz. serving of sweet and sour mix contains about 31 calories and 7.4 g of sugar, according to Drinks Mixer.
Calories and Carbs
Sugars are carbohydrates and a source of calories. The Catholic University of America reports that a 1.5-oz. shot of 80-proof liquor contains about 100 calories and zero carbohydrates, while a 12-ounce beer has about 150 calories and 13 g of carbohydrates. Sweetened liqueurs typically have more sugars and more calories. A 1-oz. serving of a cream-liqueur contains about 98 calories.
References
- Drinks Mixer: Sweet and Sour Mix
- Fat Free Kitchen: Sugar Content in Liquors, Vodka, Alcohol and Fruit
- HAMS: Harm Reduction for Alcohol: Carbs, Sugar, and Alcohol Content of Various Drinks
- Texas A&m University Bioinformatics Working Group: Alcohol
- Catholic University of America: Alcohol and Nutrition: The Calorie and Carb Breakdown!
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