What is the Unhealthiest Cocktail? A Deep Dive into Calorie and Sugar Bombs

October 9, 2025 •

4 min read

With a shocking 780 calories in a single serving, the Long Island Iced Tea is often cited as a leading contender for the title of what is the unhealthiest cocktail. This article explores the biggest culprits, revealing the ingredients and preparation methods that make some drinks far more detrimental to your health than others.

Quick Summary

This guide breaks down the most calorie-dense cocktails, including the Long Island Iced Tea and Mudslide. It examines how ingredients like sugary syrups, multiple liquors, and creams inflate calories and sugar, and offers healthier alternatives for mindful consumption.

Key Points

Long Island Iced Tea is the Unhealthiest: With five different liquors and sugary mixers, it can contain up to 780 calories and is the highest-calorie cocktail on many lists.
Sugary Syrups and Mixers are the Culprits: Most cocktail calories don't come from the alcohol itself, but from sweetened juices, liqueurs, and syrups that are loaded with sugar and empty calories.
Creamy Cocktails Mean High Fat: Drinks like the Mudslide and Piña Colada use heavy cream or coconut cream, adding significant amounts of saturated fat and calories to the mix.
Premade Mixes are Often Problematic: Bottled margarita and daiquiri mixes frequently contain exceptionally high levels of sugar and artificial ingredients, making them significantly unhealthier than fresh alternatives.
Healthier Options Exist: Opting for spirits mixed with soda water, fresh fruit juices, or a dry martini can dramatically reduce your calorie and sugar intake.
Mindful Drinking is Key: Beyond calories, excessive alcohol consumption carries significant health risks, including liver damage and heart disease.

The Calorie and Sugar Bombs Behind Unhealthy Cocktails

Determining exactly what is the unhealthiest cocktail can be a difficult task, as recipes and portion sizes vary wildly between bars. However, a pattern emerges when examining the ingredients of notoriously high-calorie drinks: multiple liquors, excessive sugar from syrups and mixers, and high-fat cream or coconut products. These components turn what seems like a standard beverage into a nutritional nightmare, packing in hundreds of calories and grams of sugar in a single glass.

The Most Egregious Offenders

Several cocktails consistently top the lists of unhealthy options, often resembling a dessert rather than a beverage. These are drinks to approach with caution, especially if you are watching your caloric or sugar intake.

Long Island Iced Tea: A potent mix of five different liquors (vodka, rum, gin, tequila, triple sec), topped with sour mix and a splash of cola, can rack up as many as 780 calories per serving. The combination of multiple spirits and sugary mixers is the primary reason for its staggering count, and its sweet taste can mask the high alcohol content, leading to overconsumption.
Mudslide: This creamy concoction is essentially an alcoholic milkshake, loaded with vodka, coffee liqueur, Irish cream liqueur, and heavy cream or ice cream. Depending on preparation, it can exceed 600 calories, with one version clocking in at 670 calories and 61 grams of sugar. It is exceptionally high in saturated fat and added sugars.
Piña Colada: The tropical vacation staple is no friend to a healthy diet. The classic recipe uses rum, pineapple juice, and high-fat coconut cream, leading to a cocktail that can contain over 640 calories. Premade mixes and large portion sizes often exacerbate the issue, with some versions containing more than 80 grams of sugar.
Frozen Margarita: While a traditional margarita can be a relatively modest indulgence, the frozen version is a calorie trap. Restaurants and bars often use sugary pre-made mixes instead of fresh juices, and oversized novelty glasses can balloon the calorie count to over 740, with huge amounts of added sugar.

What to Look Out for in a Cocktail

To make healthier choices, it is important to identify the ingredients that inflate a cocktail's nutritional stats. The sweetness of a drink is a major giveaway for hidden sugars, while creaminess points to added fats.

Sugary Mixers: Mixers are often the worst offenders. This includes grenadine, bottled juices (especially those from concentrate), flavored syrups like orgeat, and carbonated sodas like Coke or Sprite. A simple vodka-soda with a fresh lime is exponentially healthier than a vodka-cranberry, for example.
Liqueurs: Cream-based liqueurs like Irish cream and coffee liqueur add both sugar and fat. In general, any liqueur with a creamy consistency will add a significant calorie load.
Multiple Spirits: Cocktails that contain more than two spirits, like the Long Island Iced Tea, pack a huge punch in terms of alcohol and calories. The higher the alcohol by volume (ABV), the higher the inherent calories from the alcohol itself.
Excessive Size: A large, novelty-sized glass of a sugary or creamy cocktail, such as those popular in tourist areas, can double or triple the calories of a standard-sized drink.

Healthier Alternatives

For those looking to enjoy a cocktail without the health drawbacks, several excellent low-calorie and low-sugar options exist. These alternatives focus on using fresh ingredients and less-processed mixers.

Spirit and Soda Water: A simple mix of clear spirit (vodka, gin, or tequila) and soda water with a fresh fruit squeeze is a classic low-calorie choice. It avoids sugary mixers entirely.
Dry Martini: Made with gin or vodka and a splash of dry vermouth, a traditional dry martini is a spirit-forward drink with minimal added calories or sugar.
Skinny Margarita: By using fresh lime juice, tequila, and a small amount of agave nectar instead of a pre-made mix, you can dramatically reduce the sugar content.
Bloody Mary: This savory drink uses tomato juice, which is lower in sugar than fruit juices. Just be mindful of high sodium content in some mixes.
Wine Spritzer: Mixing white wine with sparkling water is a light, refreshing, and low-calorie option.

The Impact on Your Health

Regularly consuming high-sugar, high-calorie cocktails can lead to serious long-term health risks beyond simple weight gain. The empty calories can contribute to obesity, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes. Excessive alcohol intake stresses the liver, contributing to liver disease and damage over time. For more information on the dangers of excessive alcohol use, consult the CDC website.

Unhealthy vs. Healthier Cocktail Comparison


Cocktail	Calories (Approx.)	Sugar (Approx.)	Key Ingredients	Health Concerns	Alternative	Calories (Approx.)	Health Benefits
Long Island Iced Tea	Up to 780	Up to 44g	Five spirits, sour mix, cola	Extremely high calories, sugar, multiple liquors	Vodka-Diet Coke with Lime	~100	Significantly fewer calories and no sugar.
Piña Colada	644	Up to 81g	Rum, coconut cream, pineapple juice	High saturated fat, high sugar, high calories	Vodka Soda with Pineapple	~110	Low sugar, low calories.
Mudslide	556-800	Up to 61g	Vodka, Irish cream, coffee liqueur, cream/ice cream	Very high calories, fat, sugar; dessert-like	White Russian (low-fat milk)	~300-400	Reduced fat and calories by swapping heavy cream.
Frozen Margarita	Up to 740	Up to 31g (premix)	Tequila, triple sec, premade sugary mix	High calories and sugar from artificial mixes	Skinny Margarita	~100-150	Uses fresh ingredients and less sugar.
White Russian	425	26g	Vodka, coffee liqueur, heavy cream	High saturated fat and calories	Vodka Coffee	~100	Uses black coffee, no cream or liqueur.

Conclusion

The question of what is the unhealthiest cocktail points to drinks that rely heavily on multiple spirits, high-sugar syrups and juices, and creamy, fatty ingredients. While a Long Island Iced Tea or Mudslide may be delicious, their decadent nature comes at a significant nutritional cost. By becoming more aware of what goes into your glass, you can make more informed decisions, opting for simpler, lower-calorie alternatives that still offer great taste. Moderation and mindful drinking are key to enjoying cocktails without derailing your health goals. Choosing fresh ingredients, diet mixers, and smaller portions can make a world of difference for your well-being.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, a Long Island Iced Tea is widely considered one of the unhealthiest cocktails due to its high calorie and sugar content. It combines five different spirits with a sweet and sour mix and cola, resulting in up to 780 calories per serving.

A Piña Colada is unhealthy primarily because it is made with rum, pineapple juice, and high-fat coconut cream. This combination contributes to very high calorie, sugar, and saturated fat counts, especially when using pre-made sugary mixes.

Yes, creamy cocktails like the White Russian or Mudslide tend to be high in calories because they contain heavy cream, Irish cream liqueur, or ice cream. These ingredients add significant amounts of fat and sugar.

Regular consumption of high-sugar cocktails can contribute to weight gain, increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, and place added strain on your liver. The combination of alcohol and excessive sugar intake can be particularly taxing on the body.

A 'skinny' cocktail is a lower-calorie version of a classic drink, typically made by replacing sugary mixers with low-calorie or zero-sugar alternatives. For example, a Skinny Margarita might use fresh lime juice and a touch of agave instead of a bottled mix.

Yes, pre-made cocktail mixes are often packed with high amounts of added sugar, artificial flavors, and preservatives. They can drastically increase a drink's calorie count compared to a cocktail made with fresh ingredients.

Healthier alternatives include a vodka soda with fresh lime, a dry martini, a glass of wine, or a wine spritzer with sparkling water. These options use fewer or healthier mixers, keeping the sugar and calorie content significantly lower.

Yes, many flavored spirits, such as flavored vodkas, rums, and whiskeys, contain moderate to high levels of added sugar, unlike their unflavored counterparts. Sticking to plain spirits is a better option for those monitoring sugar intake.

Congeners are chemical byproducts of the fermentation process that are present in different amounts depending on the type of alcohol. Higher congener levels, often found in darker liquors like bourbon and brandy, can lead to worse hangovers, though not necessarily higher calorie counts.