What cocktails can you drink on keto?

The lowest-carb keto cocktails are spirits mixed with a zero-carb mixer: a vodka soda, gin and diet tonic, whiskey neat or on the rocks, and a dry martini all come in around 0–1g of carbs. A keto margarita made with tequila, lime, and a sugar-free sweetener runs about 3g. Avoid anything made with juice, regular soda, tonic, or sweet-and-sour mix.

What is the lowest-carb alcoholic drink?

Pure distilled spirits — vodka, whiskey, tequila, gin, rum, and brandy — have zero carbs, about 97 calories per 1.5 oz shot. The carbs only come from what you mix them with, so a spirit over ice or with soda water is the lowest-carb way to drink on keto.

How many carbs are in a vodka soda?

Essentially zero. Vodka has no carbs and soda water (club soda) has no carbs or calories, so a vodka soda is one of the most keto-friendly cocktails you can order — roughly 97 calories from the alcohol and 0g carbs. Add a lime wedge for flavor at no carb cost.

Does alcohol kick you out of ketosis?

Low-carb alcohol won't necessarily knock you out of ketosis, but your body burns alcohol before fat, so it pauses fat-burning while the drink is processed. Keep drinks low-carb, go slow, and expect alcohol to hit faster and harder on keto.

Can I have a margarita on keto?

Not the classic version — a standard margarita has 24–36g of carbs from the sweet-and-sour mix. A keto margarita made with tequila, fresh lime juice, water, and a sugar-free sweetener like monk fruit drops that to around 3g of carbs, so it fits a keto day easily.

Keto Cocktails: 12 Low-Carb Drinks Ranked by Carbs

The best keto cocktails and low-carb drinks ranked by carbs — vodka soda, dry martini, keto margarita, and more. What to order and what to skip on keto.

Priya Sharma

Nutrition Writer · July 14, 2026 · 4 min read

Keto Cocktails: 12 Low-Carb Drinks Ranked by Carbs

The best keto cocktails are a spirit plus a zero-carb mixer: a vodka soda, gin and diet tonic, whiskey on the rocks, or a dry martini all land around 0–1g of carbs, and a keto margarita comes in near 3g. Distilled spirits have no carbs — the sugar hides in the mixers. Here are 12 low-carb cocktails ranked by carbs, plus the sweet drinks to skip.

Keto cocktails ranked by carbs

Cocktail	Net carbs	Keto?	The trick
Vodka soda	~0g	✅	Vodka + club soda + lime
Whiskey neat / on the rocks	~0g	✅	Just the spirit
Gin & diet tonic	~1g	✅	Swap regular tonic (32g!) for diet
Dry martini	~1g	✅	Gin/vodka + dry vermouth
Rum & diet cola	~1g	✅	Diet Coke, not regular
Tequila lime soda	~1g	✅	Tequila + soda water + lime
Moscow mule (keto)	~2g	✅	Diet ginger beer or sugar-free syrup
Old fashioned	~3g	✅	One sugar cube or a drop of sweetener
Keto margarita	~3g	✅	Sugar-free sweetener, fresh lime
Cosmopolitan	~8g	⚠️	Cut the cranberry or use sugar-free
Mojito (regular)	~14g	❌	Sugar-loaded — make it sugar-free
Piña colada	~32g	❌	Skip — juice + cream of coconut

The lowest-carb keto cocktails

Vodka soda — ~0g net carbs

The gold standard. Vodka has zero carbs and club soda has zero carbs and calories, so a vodka soda with a lime wedge is about as keto as a cocktail gets. Order it "with soda water, not tonic" — tonic water has ~32g of sugar per 12 oz.

Whiskey, neat or on the rocks — ~0g

All distilled spirits are carb-free, so whiskey, bourbon, or scotch on its own is fully keto. Same goes for tequila, rum, gin, and brandy sipped straight.

Gin & diet tonic — ~1g

A classic G&T is only keto if you swap the tonic. Regular tonic water is sugar water (~32g/12 oz); diet or sugar-free tonic brings it to about 1g.

Dry martini — ~1g

Gin or vodka with a splash of dry vermouth is one of the driest, lowest-carb cocktails on any menu. Order it dry and it's ~1g of carbs.

The keto margarita — ~3g net carbs

A regular margarita is a keto trap: the sweet-and-sour mix packs 24–36g of carbs. Make it keto instead:

1.5 oz tequila (0g)
1 oz fresh lime juice (~1.5g)
1–2 oz water or soda water (0g)
Sugar-free sweetener to taste (monk fruit, allulose, or erythritol — 0g)
Salt rim, lime wheel

That's about 3g of net carbs versus 30g+ for the bar version. The same swap works for a keto mojito (muddled mint + lime + sugar-free sweetener + soda) and a keto Moscow mule (vodka + diet ginger beer + lime).

Cocktails to skip on keto

The carbs in a cocktail come almost entirely from mixers and syrups, not the alcohol. Skip or rebuild anything with:

Juice — cranberry, orange, pineapple (a piña colada is ~32g)
Regular soda and tonic — Coke, Sprite, tonic water
Sweet-and-sour and margarita mix — often 20–30g per serving
Simple syrup, grenadine, liqueurs — sugar in liquid form

Swap them for soda water, diet soda, diet tonic, fresh citrus, and sugar-free sweeteners or syrups, and almost any cocktail can be made keto.

A note on drinking on keto

Even a zero-carb cocktail isn't free: your body prioritizes metabolizing alcohol over burning fat, so fat-burning pauses while the drink is processed. Alcohol also tends to hit faster and harder on keto, and it can lower your guard around carbs. Drink in moderation, hydrate, and log what you have.

The easiest way to keep drinks from wrecking a keto day is to track them. CarbMeNot shows the net carbs for cocktails, spirits, seltzers, and mixers, and logs them from a photo — free on iOS and Android. Check any drink first with the free Is It Keto? tool, and see the full low-carb alcohol guide, best low-carb beers, and low-carb hard seltzers.

Frequently asked questions

What cocktails can you drink on keto?: The lowest-carb keto cocktails are spirits mixed with a zero-carb mixer: a vodka soda, gin and diet tonic, whiskey neat or on the rocks, and a dry martini all come in around 0–1g of carbs. A keto margarita made with tequila, lime, and a sugar-free sweetener runs about 3g. Avoid anything made with juice, regular soda, tonic, or sweet-and-sour mix.
What is the lowest-carb alcoholic drink?: Pure distilled spirits — vodka, whiskey, tequila, gin, rum, and brandy — have zero carbs, about 97 calories per 1.5 oz shot. The carbs only come from what you mix them with, so a spirit over ice or with soda water is the lowest-carb way to drink on keto.
How many carbs are in a vodka soda?: Essentially zero. Vodka has no carbs and soda water (club soda) has no carbs or calories, so a vodka soda is one of the most keto-friendly cocktails you can order — roughly 97 calories from the alcohol and 0g carbs. Add a lime wedge for flavor at no carb cost.
Does alcohol kick you out of ketosis?: Low-carb alcohol won't necessarily knock you out of ketosis, but your body burns alcohol before fat, so it pauses fat-burning while the drink is processed. Keep drinks low-carb, go slow, and expect alcohol to hit faster and harder on keto.
Can I have a margarita on keto?: Not the classic version — a standard margarita has 24–36g of carbs from the sweet-and-sour mix. A keto margarita made with tequila, fresh lime juice, water, and a sugar-free sweetener like monk fruit drops that to around 3g of carbs, so it fits a keto day easily.