The Most Fattening Cocktails

[Gifted Gourmet]

article from Forbes Magazine

Since it is now the season to enjoy both good drink and good food, this article seems particularly appropriate. It is in keeping with another thread here World's Most Fattening Holiday Foods but is different in a way ... when you have had too much pie or stuffing, you can pretty well judge what you are doing to your waistline. After a few cocktails, caution flies out the window and it becomes less clear how many calories are being consumed in your drinks.

Of all the evils of alcohol, weight gain is probably the least discussed. To be sure, there are many far worse results of alcohol abuse, but many people are still ignorant of the danger booze poses to their pant size.  We don't mean that the occasional cocktail will instantly result in a Brobdingnagian beer belly, but you shouldn't be fooled just because these drinks taste light and fruity. While most alcohol doesn't contain actual fat, its calories tend to be stored in the abdomen. don't feel you have to be condemned to a life of white wine spritzers (a five ounce glass contains 100 calories). Roughly knowing how many calories are in what you're drinking will make you not only a smarter drinker, but a healthier and thinner one, too.

Do click, if you dare, when you see this link within the article:See our list of the ten most fattening cocktails.

L'chaim everyone!

[JAZ]

I wonder where the author gets his or her information on calories. My usual source cites 65 calories per ounce of 80-proof alcohol (of any sort). Not to mention that when you look closely at the "recipes" the article cites, they're ridiculous:

Margarita:

Calories: 740

Carbohydrates: 56 grams

Ingredients: 4 ounces limeade, 4 ounces tequila, 1/3 ounce triple sec (The limeade is usually a premix.)

Maybe some misguided souls make margaritas that way, but a well made, normal-sized Margarita is more like 2 oz. tequila (say 140 calories), 1 ounce triple sec (I'm guessing, but I'm willing to put it on the high side and say another 100 calories), plus an ounce of lime juice (negligible calories -- maybe 15).

I think both of these Forbes articles are insulting to the reader: they're distorted, they rely on scare tactics and questionable statistics, and they willfully disregard the option of moderation.

[JAZ]

I missed this the first time around, but how seriously can you take an article that suggests vanilla vodka and Diet Coke as a substitute for a pina colada?

[Megan Blocker]

I missed this the first time around, but how seriously can you take an article that suggests vanilla vodka and Diet Coke as a substitute for a pina colada?

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And where's the eggnog? I didn't see that one on the list...or did I miss it?

Common sense, of course, tells us that cocktails with lots of cream, eggs or fruit juice are going to have more calories (and, with the eggs and cream, fat) than others, or than a glass of wine. I would not have put gin and tonic on that list, though...huh.

[Tess]

I love it that the welcome screen for that article is an ad for scotch.

Yes, I think the figures are strange:

But don't feel you have to be condemned to a life of white wine spritzers (a five ounce glass contains 100 calories).

A five-ounce glass of wine, but not a spritzer.

Agreed, both articles are insulting to the intelligence and ignore moderation. One would think they could do better than that. Even the advice I get from Weight Watchers online is better.

[petite tête de chou]

Feh. Drink-enough-of-'em-and-you-won't-care-about-the-calories. My holiday drinking motto.

[slkinsey]

Common sense, of course, tells us that cocktails with lots of cream, eggs or fruit juice are going to have more calories (and, with the eggs and cream, fat) than others, or than a glass of wine.  I would not have put gin and tonic on that list, though...huh.

Actually, even though it is not intuitive, I'd bet that a strong Manhattan has more calories than eggnog or a fruit juicey vodka cocktail. As my body keeps on telling me, alcohol is very caloric.

[JAZ]

And where's the eggnog?  I didn't see that one on the list...or did I miss it?

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Eggnog already made the Forbes list for most fattening holiday foods:

fattening holiday foods

Eggnog:

Nutrition Facts: Calories: 335, Calories from fat: 187, Total fat: 20.9g, Total carbohydrate: 19.4g, Total protein: 7.3g

Ingredients: 3 eggs (slightly beaten), 1/3 cup sugar, 1 dash salt, 2 ½ cups milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 cup rum, 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1 tablespoon of packed brown sugar, ground nutmeg

As I posted in that thread, it's really hard to evaluate their claims when they don't give a serving size. Anyone can see that this list of ingredients will total way more than 335 calories, but since that's the case, what constitues a serving? Half of that? A quarter? They don't say.

And in what universe does a Margarita have twice as many calories as an eggnog?

[munchymom]

And in what universe does a Margarita have twice as many calories as an eggnog?

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In the universe where a ordering a Margarita in a restaurant is likely to bring you a 20-ounce fishbowl filled with a shot of tequila, a bit of ice, and 15 ounces of artificial-lime-flavored high fructose corn syrup. This is why I order beer when I eat Mexican food, and make my Margaritas at home.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Gotcha on the way in which Forbes' Susan Yara has handled the facts she offers in this article. I am in the process of writing her an email, which I will send with my, and should you wish to join me in this, thinking about the poor level of information she offers the readers.

Input from you on the article? I will combine all of our "disenchantment" in the generalized name of "readers of eGullet.org".

"I found your article misleading and information contained therein to be inaccurate because __________________"... or something to that effect.

Should you want your comments included in my email, please post accordingly. I will pass it all on. Thanks.

[Tess]

And why are they not recommending champagne, a very holiday-appropriate and diet-friendly drink? The whole emphasis on mixed cocktails seems weird. Even red wine has more calories than white or champagne, but I find it's much easier and more satisfying to sip a nice glass of red wine slowly than some of those mixed drinks.

In my opinion, the relationship between alcohol and weight gain is interesting and complicated beyond the calories in the alcohol. I think the blood-sugar spike from the alcohol makes you even hungrier later. Plus, I think drinking a significant amount slows down my metabolism and makes it harder to work out effectively the next day. But anyway, over the holidays I don't keep track aggressively.