Non-Alcoholic Spirits: Calories, Carbs and Trace ABV

By the DrinkLeader team · Published 2026-10-13 · Data updated 2026-10-12 · 8 min read

Most non-alcoholic spirits list zero to a few calories and zero to a few grams of carbs per serving, far below the roughly 95 calories of a standard pour of a real spirit. The exceptions are sweet, liqueur-style alternatives. They also vary on alcohol: "non-alcoholic" usually means under 0.5% ABV rather than none, and some products list a trace.

What non-alcoholic spirits are

A non-alcoholic spirit is a drink designed to stand in for gin, whiskey, tequila, rum or an aperitif without the alcohol. Makers use botanical distillates, extracts, vinegars, smoke or spice to give it the bite and aroma that alcohol carries in the real thing. There is no single recipe, and the federal rules for labeling are about alcohol content rather than recipe. Because there is no alcohol, the 7 calories per gram that make up most of a real spirit's energy simply are not there. Whatever remains comes from sugar or other added ingredients.

The NIAAA defines a US standard drink as 14 grams of pure alcohol, for example 1.5 fl oz of 80-proof spirits. A non-alcoholic spirit contains essentially none, and so it does not count as a standard drink. A trace of alcohol is another matter, which we come to below.

Seedlip: botanical bases at zero

Seedlip is a well-known brand of distilled non-alcoholic spirits, and every Seedlip product in the catalog lists zero for calories and carbs:

These are intended to be mixed, so the numbers for the drink you make include the mixer, not just the base.

Spirit alternatives from Lyre's, Ritual and Monday

Several brands position their products as direct replacements for gin, whiskey, tequila or rum. Here are the Ritual products:

And Monday, which makes a gin, whiskey and mezcal alternative:

Most of these list between 0g and 2g of carbs, and one lists 5 calories. Lyre's has the widest range, which is visible on the Lyre's brand page. Here are its lowest-calorie products:

The Lyre's spirit replacements (dry gin, malt, agave) are at or near zero, while its aperitif and liqueur-style products are sweeter. Lyre's markets its products as low in calories and sugar on its own site, and the catalog numbers show where that is true and where it is not:

Trace alcohol: what "non-alcoholic" means

In the US, a "non-alcoholic" claim on a beer-style product generally means less than 0.5% alcohol by volume. Athletic Brewing, whose non-alcoholic beers are in the catalog, states on its website that its beers are under 0.5% ABV, and notes that trace alcohol also occurs naturally in foods like ripe bananas and orange juice. Some brands go to 0.0%. The catalog stores each product's listed ABV, and some of the Lyre's products above list 0.2% or 0.3%.

That small number is not the same as none. Anyone who avoids alcohol entirely, for health, legal, religious or recovery reasons, should check the specific product's label and discuss it with their own provider. This page is not a substitute for that.

Compared with real spirits

A standard pour of a real spirit has alcohol calories that a non-alcoholic one lacks. The catalog averages are 108 calories for gin, 95 for vodka and 108 for whiskey per 1.5 oz pour. A non-alcoholic spirit lists close to zero for the same pour, though if you add juice or a sweet mixer the total quickly catches up. The low-sugar mixers guide covers how to keep the whole drink low.

Taste is the other side of the trade: without alcohol, flavor leans on botanicals, acid and bitterness, and some people prefer to mix these into a spritz or a highball instead of sipping them neat.

How to choose

• Read the label for ABV. "Non-alcoholic" in the US generally means under 0.5%; a 0.0% claim is stricter.
• Check calories and sugar. Spirit-style bases list close to zero; aperitifs and liqueur-style bottles list more.
• Check the serving size, which runs from 1 oz pours to 8.5 oz ready-to-drink cans in the catalog.
• Count the mixer. Juice, tonic and syrup add the carbs that the base did not.
• For beer-style options, see our non-alcoholic beer guide, and for low-strength alcoholic drinks, the low-ABV guide.

This page is information, not medical advice. The CDC says that drinking less is better for health than drinking more. Catalog values are collected as described on the methodology page; manufacturer figures are preferred where available.