Vodka Calories

Eastern Europe's dominant spirit; vodka is prepared by fermenting and distilling simple sugars from grains. The classic grains used to prepare vodka along with molasses, beets, and potatoes are rye and wheat. One of the world's most popular liquors, vodka's alcohol content ranges between 35-50 percent by volume.

Commonly used in cocktails and mixed drinks, vodka lends itself to blending with flavors and fortifying other beverages, due to its neutral spirit quality. Then, there are the flavored vodkas which have been introduced to mask the flavors of the primitive ones.

Today, the different types of vodkas available are Kubanskaya (orange peel and dried lemon infusion), Pertsovka (peppered flavored vodka), Limonnaya (lemon flavored vodka), etc. These flavored vodkas contain 30-55 percent alcohol content. The amount of calories in the drink comes from the amount of alcohol content in the drink.

The myth that vodka contained no calories and no carbohydrates needs to be cleared out from our heads. A glass of neutral-tasting vodka contains a combination of water and ethyl alcohol, wherein, the alcohol content is 35-50 percent by volume.

This shows that vodka has no carbohydrates, unlike beer which does have carbohydrate content. However, this does not nullify the fact that vodka contains calories. Each gram of vodka coincides to 7 calories. One bottle of vodka comprises 1600 calories.

One shot of vodka (one ounce) contains 64 calories. A jigger (1.5 ounces) contains 95 calories approximately. If we are considering flavored vodka, the number of calories will obviously be higher. Mixing drinks and adding sugary liqueur only doubles the calorie content.

A simple vodka cocktail such as a screwdriver, with 6 ounces of orange juice added to the vodka would take the calories in one shot all the way up to 84. Moreover, if you take cranberry juice and add it to one shot of vodka, the calories rise to 140.

Let's take a look at calories(kcal) present in vodka with some more additional flavorings and mixed drinks.

• Vodka with Coke - 120
• Vodka and Diet Coke - 56
• Vodka and Tomato Juice - 98
• Vodka and Tonic - 88

This calorie count was for a 175 ml serving size. A bottle of Smirnoff Ice or Smirnoff Black corresponds to 176 kCal.

Moreover, calories in vodka and bitter lemon, wherein 1.5 ounces of vodka is added to 3 ounces of lemon-lime soda, 3 fluid ounces of tonic water, and a slice of lime corresponds to 180 calories and 17 grams of carbohydrates. In case of a vodka martini, 3 ounces of vodka, a splash of dry vermouth, and a green olive dunked into it corresponds to 210 calories.

These calories are metabolized first by the body, prior to burning fat, thus, vodka is not the best option for people striving to lose weight. So, it's no use drinking all that vodka and believing it's helping you lose weight.

However, if you want to burn the absolute calories from your body, it is said that walking for 9 minutes at 4 mph burns the 64 calories in one shot of vodka. So, walk and burn the calories your body has taken up!