Entertaining

6 Low Cal Summer Drinks for a Slim Season

This low calorie Spritz is our new go-to come summer. It’s hydrating, healthy-ish, and so refreshing that it’s downright chuggable. To make this Highball, all you have to do is mix equal parts coconut water and vodka in a glass, add ice and top with soda water. This is a great option if you’re tracking calories—just know that you will definitely drink more than one of these spritzy Highballs.

There is simply no better cocktail to beat the heat than an Aperol Spritz. The best part about this cocktail—besides its subtly bitter, orange flavor and utterly perfect effervescence—is its low calorie count. The next time you’re lounging in the summer sun waiting for your light lunch, you can go ahead and indulge in this aperitif without feeling guilty. It will cool you down without stretching out your waistline.

Japanese drinkers know a thing or two about miserably hot and humid summers, and bartenders designed this libation to help them battle the oppressive season. Bonus: The refreshing drink is dangerously delicious (in Japan you’ll see people downing these drinks in multiples) and light on the calories. Best of all, you only need a bottle of Japanese whisky and some quality seltzer to concoct it.

Another ultra-refreshing Highball, this take on the G&T uses vodka at the base in lieu of gin for (slightly) fewer calories. Even more bitter and tonic-forward than its gin-based cousin, this cocktail is essential summer drinking. Just make sure to invest in good tonic water that doesn’t use corn syrup or else you won’t be doing your body any good.

Rum is not nearly as calorie heavy as you might think, but it still isn’t necessarily the healthiest of spirits. To reduce the calorie count and optimize the drinkability of one of summer’s most iconic cocktail crushers, we swapped out the rum for a measure of vodka. Now you can sip a Mojito—in all its minty, effervescent glory—without any worry.

While you might be more familiar with the Bay Breeze, this cocktail has all the same components, sans the fattening, sugary pineapple juice. Made with ultra-tart cranberry juice (opt for a brand that doesn’t use corn syrup or too much added sugar), vibrantly acidic lime juice and vodka, the Cape Codder is thirst-quenching and incredibly satisfying. This drink was made for beach days, afternoons spent sailing and backyard pool parties. And you won’t feel bad sporting that bathing suit after drinking more than one.