If your New Year’s resolution involves cutting back on sugar or counting calories, your favorite cocktail may be the first to go. Cocktails have notoriously been known as a place where calories accumulate the fastest, compelling many to a vodka soda for their cocktail needs. However, sticking to your resolution does not have to mean sacrificing flavor or going back to basics. Here are our favorite low-calorie cocktails that are more enjoyable than a vodka soda.
Refresh ‘Zing’
Start by muddling 5 cucumber chunks and 1 basil leaf. Add 1.5 oz. Distillery of Modern Art vodka and a splash of lime juice. Shake and serve with a cucumber garnish.
Japanese Highball
Place one large ice cube in a highball glass. Stir until frost appears on the glass. Pour off any excess water. Add one more ice cube, then add 2 oz. of Distillery of Modern Art rye whiskey to the glass. Stir exactly 13 times clockwise. Place another ice cube in the glass. Top with soda water and stir three times to incorporate.
Spicy Blackberry-Cucumber Spritz
In a shaker tin, add 2 oz. Distillery of Modern Art vodka, 0.5 oz. Crème de mûre and 0.75. oz lemon juice. Add ice and shake. Using a strainer, strain the cocktail into a Collins glass filled with fresh ice. Top the cocktail with Muré Pepino La Croix and stir to incorporate. Garnish with a lemon wedge and a fresh blackberry speared on a toothpick.
Dirty Martini
Add 2 oz. of Distillery of Modern Art gin, .75 oz. dry vermouth and .75 oz. olive brine into a shaker tin with ice. Stir for 30 seconds until the shaker is ice cold. Strain into a coupe glass using a strainer, ensuring to catch some of the chunkier olive bits. Garnish with three olives.
Cucumber Elderflower Cocktail
Take 4-5 slices of cucumber and cut them into quarters. Add them along with 2 oz. Distillery of Modern Art gin, .25 oz. elderflower liqueur, .75 oz. Bianco vermouth and .75 oz. lemon juice into a cocktail shaker. Muddle these ingredients. Add 1 egg white and ice and shake until it’s frothy. Double strain into a coupe glass and let it settle. Zest lemon and cucumber on top for garnish.