lower calorie rum drinks

[stockdoct]

I'm a physician who has a difficult time accepting the massive number of calories in typical rum tiki drinks. Cranberry juice, pineapple juice, orange juice, cream, coconut milk (delicious, but I can hear my arteries snapping shut as I consume it).

Has anyone tried combining decent rums with the recently-distributed fruit flavored low-calorie soda's on the market? I've tried (unaged) Tortuga Gold in "Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash" calorie-free soda and found it surprisingly fun. Mixing with Sunkist diet orange soda was a disaster, and Captain Morgan Private Reserve in Minute Maid 0-calorie lemonade wasn't bad, with the lemon-vanilla mix.

I'd like to find a "cocktail", perhaps a combination of a rum, a diet soda or two, perhaps with bitters (or not) that I could introduce and share at a party which includes a diabetic friend and folks who choose not to consume 1000 calories from a couple drinks.

With the excellent taste of the new sodas, I suspect we may find one that's surprisingly good ....

Mike

[Scottes]

I know nothing about diabetes, so I have to ask: is diet soda OK? If so, I'd head to a Whole Foods Market or Trader Joe's and look through their selection of diet sodas from small companies. Some are quite good, but it will require some experimentation.

However, my first thought is flavored seltzers. I'm sure that there are some that would complement some rums.

[Dood]

My wife is very calorie conscious...which means that I am very calorie conscious.

I've tried various rums with just about every kind of diet fruit drink, soda, or anything you can think of. After reading Scott's review of all of the ginger ales and rum I've been considering a similar experiment, although one of the problems is that with the exception of 1 pure cane Coca Cola on my recent cruise, I haven't had a non-diet soda in about 5 years.

The diet juice that I find quite good is the V-8 Lite Splash Tropical Blend...mix this with some Foursquare Spiced Rum and you've got a simple, but quite good drink. I've also found that the Hansen's brand of diet sodas seem to make pretty good mixers - from their very good Diet Ginger Ale to their Kiwi Strawberry soda.

I have yet to try to make any tiki cocktails with these types of ingredients...the idea intrigues me - because it would be fun and healthy and because it would mean fewer lectures about sugar when I get out the shaker to make a cocktail during the week. ;)

[stockdoct]

Just tried Cruzan Blackstrap rum in lemon-lime "Sierra Mist" calorie-free soda. Pretty tasty.

[Tiare]

Then i believe that JW&N overproof rum would go well with most low calorie sodas. That is - if you like the taste of this rum.

But how low calorie the rum itself is i don`t know..?

I drink it with Ting, Sanpellegrino or Campari and thatґs not low calorie sodas.

[JMac]

I stick to low calorie rum drinks due to diabetes in my maternal side of the family and that I'm no longer 23 and can eat/drink what I wanted with no consequence.

After experimentation....I found the drink corresponded with the rum. For instance, rhum agricole blanc would be a ti punch with 10 ml Blue Agave syrup, slice of lime, 10ml Grantham's Mojito mix, and 2 ounces rhum. With Neisson I leave out the mojito mix but use a cinnamon stick.

Gold rum or younger aged rums would usually be 1 to 1.5 ounces of ginger ale, rum, ice, and a cinnamon stick. I modeled this after the Dark and Stormy. The ginger ale I use is not the commercial products but products like Reed's Jamaican ginger ale at the local health food store.

Aged rums like Pampero, Zacapa I drink neat with ice and maybe a lime wedge.

Nothing fancy but enjoyable.

[Tiare]

So how many calories appr could it be in say a glass of Pampero? drinking a lot of rum must be a large intake of sugars?

[krustykrab]

So how many calories appr could it be in say a glass of Pampero? drinking a lot of rum must be a large intake of sugars?

Just did a quick search... Looks like about 100 calories in a typical 80 proof 1.5oz portion of rum, likewise 125calories for the same amount of 100 proof...

[JMac]

I looked up the calorie content of rum a couple of times and it boils down to the following:

The calories in gin, rum, vodka or whiskey depends on the proof, which is twice the percentage of alcohol. For example, 90 proof vodka contains 45 per cent alcohol; 100 proof contains 50 per cent alcohol. And it’s easy to guess which has more calories: The higher the proof, the higher the calories. Here’s the damage:

* Double shot 80 proof contains 97 calories
* Double shot 90 proof contains 110 calories
* Double shot 100 proof contains 124 calories

NOTE: the above are double shots (shot = 1 ounce). A single is half that.

The real damage is done by the mix used to drink your rum with. Some drink recipes I've found have had close to a 1,000 calories per drink!

As for aged rums; what I've found is that, even with caramel added for flavor/colouring, the calories count is still minuscule compared to the mix you use. IE Bacardi Black is only 58 calories per ounce.

[Tiare]

likewise 125calories for the same amount of 100 proof...

Which means 250 calories worth of rum in my Killer Mai Tai with the Silver Seal rum..which means i then imbibed at least 750 calories yesterday..:eek::eek::eek:

And then i haven`t even counted the orgeat, the curacao and the simple...

Now i got conflicting emotions..how to solve this problem??

("heads for the gym..")

[krustykrab]

I'm particularly into mojitos, especially now that the fresh mint is up in the backyard!

One version that I've been doing recently with good success is to leave out the sugar syrup and soda, and instead sub in zero cal diet Sprite. Comes out quite nice and refreshing!

[JMac]

That sounds tasty...may I ask how much diet Sprite you put in?

[krustykrab]

That sounds tasty...may I ask how much diet Sprite you put in?

I do the usual...
muddle a half of a lime and ~12 mint leaves
ice to top of glass (small 6-8oz glass)
1.5oz rum
~3-4oz diet sprite
stir

just finished up my first one for the evening when I got home from work... tasty!:)
Actually just tried that one with some cachaca that I picked up this week - that was mighty tasty:cool:

[Tiare]

Your after work drink looks very tasty! , i think i`m gonna switch at least a bit for these kind of drinks as the highproof demerara Mai Tais are very calorie intensive..that way i also don`t finish my Silver Seal bottle too fast..

My own after work drink today i call Footprints in the Sand, its not a diet drink, you find it in the recipe section.

[gmarket]

in england, captain morgan & morgan spiced bottles have the calorie information printed on the rear label. 56 & 52 calories respectively per 25ml. all the other rums stocked where i work don't!

[Tiare]

Isn`t it unusual to have the calorie information printed on the rear label? i have never seen that.

[primate77]

gmarket - those numbers sound about right. Typical calories for a shot of 80 proof rum will range roughly 60-80 calories, depending on the rum.

I enjoy a good foo foo drink now and again - sorry... Tiki drink! But yeah - the calories!!! Man, they do pile up. I watch my caloric intake daily. I like to keep between 1800-2000 calories a day, so you tend to have to "choose wisely" what to put in the tank. My favorite - Dark n Stormy (but made with a good gingerale) will run me approximately 130-135 calories using cane sugar ginger and quality rum. Ratchet that up to something that say, might require bar syrup or Petite Canne, pineapple juice, orange juice or heaven forbid - coconut milk:eek: Then watch the calories really pile up!

I've tried going with diet ginger ale on the dark n stormy, and it just isn't the same - at all. Which really lets you know it's the cane sugar that really brings the flavor in this drink out. I actually don't mind Diet Coke or Coke Zero mixed with rum, either I've grown accustomed to the taste, or I liked it from the start.

[JMac]

I've tried the Coke Zero as well and I have to say I've become used to it as apposed to liking it......with some rums the Coke Zero really takes on an aspartame taste....

[Rumpelteazer]

Maybe one of our mad scientists can figure out how to distill diet rum from aspertame cane :D

[primate77]

Bacardi has some flavored light rums on the market (some berry flavor I think) and touts something like a 1/3rd less calories? I've heard - not so good.

[gmarket]

Isn`t it unusual to have the calorie information printed on the rear label? i have never seen that.

in the UK, the majority of the big brand spirits (especially whisky) have calorie information on the back; more recently, they've been carrying 'no drinking if pregnant' logos!

[primate77]

they've been carrying 'no drinking if pregnant' logos

Or operating farm equipment or heavy machinery.

Driving through school zones with a bottle of rum in one hand, a handgun in the other, going 40 over the limit while steering the car with your knee cap!:D

(It's all right there in black and white - honest!)

[stockdoct]

Hey, I just came across Minute Maid Calorie-Free Cherry Limeade. Delicious alone, but improved with a generous splash of rum.

[tym2relax]

For me I am more concerned where those calories come from.

What I would like to find is a low-fat recipe for a Pina Colada. An ounce of coconut cream has 4 grams of saturated fat. Sure tastes good though.

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Oh, one option is to use Knudsen Pineapple and Coconut Juice. I tried it once, but it is not as decadent as the original. Perhaps add a tiny bit of the coco cream and lots of ice to get slushy?