How to Limit Sugar in Drinks
Easy and effective ways to reduce glucose intake while making drinks.
Oh, simple syrup…
You are the one-to-one ratio of sugar to water. You are the go-to. You are the invisible ingredient that can either enhance or overpower a cocktail. You take so many roads to end up in a drink, not all of them necessary or advisable.
Your beginning was well-intentioned. But as time wore on, people suffered from your presence. They realized you were adding extra carbs to their drinks, spiking blood glucose levels, and causing nasty hangovers.
Why add sugar in the first place?
Our palettes are sensitive organs. There are five main tastes.
These sensations are caused by a variety of chemicals as they interact with our taste buds. We register a taste as sweet when compounds like glucose and sucrose hit our tongue. Sour tastes, however, are caused by the presence of excess hydrogen ions. Our bodies are hardwired to reject the intake of overly acidic food and drinks as they are bad for our digestive systems.
Much of the palatability of a spirit depends on the quality of the distillation process, and whether or not the distiller made the right decisions in production. In the case of liqueurs and cordials, sugar or other sweeteners are often added to mitigate any unpleasant tastes.
Alcoholic beverages contain a variety of sugars, alcohols, and oils that help to convince our palettes how each beverage tastes.
Role of history and tradition
Back in 1850’s America, distillation was less controlled and not very well understood. Furthermore, rye whiskey was the spirit of choice as corn had not yet been established as prolific crop. Rye whiskey (also just known as Rye) is a very lean, green-tasting, often astringent spirit. Patrons at bars would usually drink it straight (see my article on whiskey drinks here), but it was known for being bitter and harsh.
However, a bartender named Jerry Thomas changed all of that. Known as The Professor, he made his living traveling to different saloons in the US and establishing mixology as we know it today. He is credited with creating the Old Fashioned, originally a cocktail made from sugar, aromatic bitters, and Holland gin. Thomas would use a sugar cube, orange aromatic bitters and small quantity of ice, calling for the cocktail to be stirred with a spoon.
The first whiskey version appeared much later, in 1880, from a Louisville bartender named James E. Pepper. He took this recipe to the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, and the rest is history. By then, bourbon had made its way to the forefront of whiskey culture, and the cocktail was likely much sweeter as a result.
A variety of cocktails soon appeared: highballs, sours, fizzes, and smashes. Most included the addition of one important ingredient to make the drinks more appealing—sugar.
More drinks, more sugar
The 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s ushered in a cocktail culture that added yet more sugary syrups, liqueurs, and additives to cocktails. Dyes, synthetic flavors, and conditioners were added to make products less expensive to manufacture, more uniform in appearance, and easier to ship. But the downside was that the popular mixed drinks—Cosmopolitans, Long Island Iced Teas, margaritas, and shooters—were packed with sugar. Some even had recipes that called for mixers like sweet & sour, juices and soda, increasing adverse effects after a night out; things like dehydration, fatigue and headaches.
Sweet tooth exhaustion
Fast-forward to today. A resurgence of interest in pre-prohibition era cocktails has brought mixologists back to basics. Now, the focus has pivoted to selecting high-quality base spirits to showcase in each drink, instead of masking shortcomings with sugar and artificial flavors.
Creative mixology starts with the question: how can I do more, with less? In this case, the goal is take away the presence of excess sugar, which hides more delicate notes in the flavor wheel and can make a cocktail overly sweet, or unbalanced.
If the goal is to limit the amount of table sugar, or sucrose, a drink contains, a bartender might be tempted to reach for a sugar substitute. That was the drink will still taste sweet, but have none of the sugar load. That makes sense, right? But sugar substitutes, like sucralose and aspartame, often have an undesirable aftertastes. So what is a mixologist to do?
Use natural sugars
Fruit is often a great addition to a cocktail, but how to include the fruity taste without using a sugar-rich syrup or frozen puree?
Shrubs are a style of fermented, cidery beverage that have been around for centuries. Early American settlers used to make them to preserve the taste of fruit long before refrigeration was a thing. They were frequently mixed with rum or brown sugar to make punches, lemonades and more. Depending on the maker’s preference, they can be more acidic or more on the sweet side. Shrubs deliver explosive, fresh fruit flavor while reducing the use of sugary syrups.
Infuse it, don’t lose it
Alcohol-based infusions are a must in any savvy drinker’s repertoire. This the practice of cold-soaking an ingredient in an alcoholic medium to imbue it with another flavor. Herbs and spices are the top choices, as their high concentration of aromatics helps the flavor stay crisp and clean. However, fruit, teas, and coffees can all be used.
Simply pour the liquor into an airtight container. Taste the product as it macerates to assess the flavor. Depending on the ingredients being infused, the process can take a couple of days or more than a week. When finished, strain the liquor though cheesecloth to catch any particulates. Funnel it back into the original bottle for easy storage.
Go nuts for coconut
If you love the fresh, tropical flavors of coconut water, embrace this ingredient in your next tiki-inspired drink. Coconut water is a fantastic substitute for other sugar-laced beverages like juice and soda. There is already a delicious rum on the market (RumHaven) proofed down with coconut water. Or, take those infusion skills to the next level by infusing regular coconut water with fresh herbs like tarragon or mint. Then, add a favorite rum, tequila or even cachaça and mix away.
Table sugar alternatives
Finally, you may not want to eliminate sugar entirely, but are looking for other ways to sweeten your drinks.
Honey is a by-product of bees and flower pollen, has a fragrant, floral, and complex aroma. It is a natural fit in gin and whiskey cocktails, though its hygroscopic nature means you’ll have to shake each drink vigorously to dissolve the honey. Raw, unprocessed honey is the healthiest choice, and usually widely available at a local supermarket. Even better, honey is antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial, and never spoils. Though it has nearly the same glycemic index as table sugar, the complex variety of different sugars in honey means that it is easier for your body to breakdown and process.
Monkfruit is an interesting plant-based sweetener derived from luo han guo, a melon native to China and parts of Thailand. It gained notoriety among keto and low-carb dieters for a low glycemic index and zero-calorie impact. On its own, monkfruit is about 200 times sweeter than table sugar, so it’s not a 1-1 substitute in the pure form. Most commercially available monkfruit sweeteners account for this, and recipes should be adapted accordingly.
Sweet takeaway
Delicious cocktails don’t have to be laden down by sugar or synthetic liqueurs. You can adapt your drinking habits to your lifestyle with a few simple tweaks. And the next time the urge hits to visit the local bar, chat up the bartender or server to see what goes into the drinks on their list. After all, healthy choices shouldn’t stop when eating out, and only by requesting better options will attitudes begin to shift.
