If you’re working on reducing sugar in your diet but still enjoy a drink now and then, here’s an Easy Lower Sugar Moscow Mule Cocktail that has lower sugar and calories than a traditional Moscow Mule but still tastes delicious
Hey friends! After 7 years of blogging, it’s hard to think that I still haven’t posted certain recipes on The Fit Cookie. But after all that time, this is the first actual cocktail recipe I’ve ever posted on our website.
We’ve posted a couple mocktail recipes before (I don’t really create too many drink posts, honestly), but have never posted a cocktail recipe with alcohol. This one is the first!
But with the holidays coming up and New Years soon, this seemed like a perfect time to post a lower sugar and lower calorie cocktail recipe!
One of the reasons we haven’t posted too many recipes with alcohol in them is because I really don’t drink too much at all, and most alcoholic beverages have something in them that bothers my IBS and my allergies (not to mention the alcohol itself can sometimes be an issue).
But I occasionally like to have a sweet drink like this Lower Sugar Moscow Mule as an after dinner treat instead of dessert. This still isn’t completely sugar free, but it is lower in sugar than most Moscow Mule recipes so you can shave off some calories and sugar from your favorite drink.
We recently discovered the Smirnoff Moscow Mule flavored vodka that makes it so easy to create your own Moscow Mule drinks. I checked online for the ingredients and nutrients in the vodka, and the flavored vodka itself has no sugar in it or added to it until you add your ginger beer.
Reduce the calories and carbs you intake with this enjoyable low calorie cocktail. A full calorie Moscow Mule recipe has around 180 calories, including 21 grams of carbs and sugars. Not terrible, but we can definitely shave off quite a few calories and ALL the sugars and carbs, if you like.
Since I love the ginger flavor and sugar free ginger beer is pretty much impossible to find, I made a concentrated sugar free ginger syrup, which I added to vodka, lime juice, and diet ginger ale.
In case you’re new to Moscow Mules like I was, they are traditionally made with vodka, lime juice, and ginger beer. YUM.
Because it’s all about the props amiright? My fellow bloggers and food photographers know what I mean. Any excuse to go props shopping! ? ? ?
I love the square cubes that I just got and used in these Moscow Mules, but I also have these sphere ice cube molds which I used all summer long in margaritas and rusty nails on the lake. They are also fun for kids, who get a huge kick out of them, and it’s easy to freeze fruit or herbs into them to up your cocktail game even more. ? ? ?
So if you don’t yet have your very own set of Moscow Mule mugs, get them ASAP because you can use them year round and they are great for kids and around the pool in the summer because they don’t break like glass!
Reducing the sugar in a Moscow Mule and choosing ginger beer
The Smirnoff Moscow Mule flavored vodka makes mixing up your own ginger lime cocktail really easy! If you didn’t care about calories, you could just mix 8 ounces of your favorite ginger beer with a shot of this and it tastes great.
But since this is one of our favorite drinks, I wanted to make this with a bit less sugar and calories. I rarely drink at all, but when I do, I try to make it something that has very little yeast in it.
My Moscow Mule recipe has a bit less sugar than the regular version of the drink, and it’s not as strong as some of these drinks. Some recipes for Moscow Mule drinks call for only 4 ounces of ginger beer to one shot of vodka altogether, so this drink isn’t as strong (which I prefer).
I have tried different kinds of ginger beers in this recipe, but we settled on the Bedford’s ginger beer was great in this. We both loved the Bundaberg ginger beer, but I couldn’t have too much of it since it has yeast (I have a yeast allergy).
The Cock and Bull ginger beer was alright, too, but the ginger was a bit too strong for us by itself. But since you’ll mix it with the Zevia Mixer Ginger Beer, you can always use the Cock and Bull Ginger Beer for this recipe and skip adding the extra bit of ginger.
If you want this drink to be completely sugar free and only 80 calories, you can make it with just the Zevia Mixer Ginger Beer. We didn’t personally like the taste of the Zevia ginger beer alone, but it tastes good mixed with a high quality ginger beer like Bedford’s or Bundaberg.
I decided to mix the Zevia ginger beer mixer half and half with a great ginger beer (with no high fructose corn syrup) and it’s delicious! A great way to cut down on the calories and sugar without sacrificing taste.
Check out our other cold drink recipes:
Beginner cocktails: Moscow Mule
FAQ
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