36 Absolute Best Low-Alcohol Cocktails

Imbibing in low-alcohol cocktails is an option increasingly gaining traction among drinking enthusiasts. International Wine and Spirits Research (IWSR) reports that the no/low-alcohol category globally exceeded $11 billion in 2022. The research company further expects consumption to grow an additional third by 2026 across ten significant markets, including the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, South Africa, and Japan. IWSR adds that In the U.S., 43% of no and low-alcohol consumers are millennials. 

But what is low alcohol? There is no specific standard for cocktails, but reducing a classic drink's alcohol content can occur by swapping high-alcohol hard liquor with low-alcohol ingredients, like flavor-packed fortified and aromatized wines. Bartenders have also been known to create something distinctive and delicious using only low-alcohol ingredients.

Below are 36 of the best low-alcohol cocktails. These full-flavored drinks are so well balanced and tasty that it's barely noticeable that they have a lower alcohol content.

Portugal is known for its hearty, fortified, tawny and ruby port from red grape varieties. However, Douro Valley winemakers also craft a fortified white port from native white wine grapes like malvasia fina and códega, creating a fruit-forward blend with herbaceous, stone fruit notes. 

With flavors similar to a fruity gin but with half the alcohol, white port is delicious in cocktails, particularly white port tonic. Also known as a Portonic or Porto Tonico, the drink combines two ounces of white port with tonic water, served over ice in a rocks glass. 

When you hear the word "cobbler," you either think shoes or the baked fruit-filled dessert. Wine-based cobbler cocktails involve neither, but became popular in America during the late 1830s as the country developed an affinity for wine and sherry, considered an affordable luxury since Spanish wine is relatively inexpensive. 

The original cocktail was a mix of sherry, sugar, and ice. Today's version employs nutty amontillado sherry or dried fruit-filled oloroso, enhanced by muddling oranges and sugar before adding sherry and ice. Stir and strain into an ice-filled highball glass and you've got a sherry cobbler cocktail.

The michelada combines Mexican beer with hot sauce, tomato juice, ice, and lime. Distinct from the chelada (Mexico's other favorite beer cocktail that pours a light beer over a Tajín or salt-rimmed, ice-filled mug with lime), the michelada has become increasingly popular in America in recent years. 

A great recipe typically calls for a bloody Mary mix, with imaginative bartenders creating super garnished micheladas that provide your daily calorie count. However, Clamato juice, hot sauce, and Mexican beer are the most traditional.

The pisco sour is made from pisco, an unaged brandy made from native white grapes in Peru and Chile, with both countries claiming it as their own. Peruvians can claim the cocktail, as a Lima bar first shook the drink in 1916. 

The classic pisco cocktail recipe includes pisco with citrus juice, bitters, and egg white, shaken until frothy and served up in a coupe. Pisco's alcohol can range from 30% to 48%. Check the bottle's ABV to keep the cocktail light.

A classic white wine spritzer is much more than a sugary wine cooler. Instead, combining dry white wine with seltzer and citrus slices over ice yields a crisp, refreshing low alcoholic drink. 

Additionally, it is incredibly low in calories. Mix three ounces of wine with three or four ounces of soda, creating a drink with around 60 calories. If you're feeling adventurous, upgrade your wine spritzer by adding fresh fruit and herbs.

A Siciliano is the ideal cocktail to enjoy after a hearty meal. It lends double digestion assistance by combining herbaceous amaro with coffee. 

One recommended version is Sicily's Averna Amaro, which keeps the drink local to its name. Averna's blend includes rosemary, orange, and licorice. Healthline reports licorice root is a digestion aid; coffee is as well (via Healthline). The cocktail is enhanced with sweet vermouth to round out the flavor profile, finishing with a fragrant orange twist.

In 1945, Harry's Bar in Venice created a fresh peach Bellini cocktail. The cocktail was named after the Italian artist Giovanni Bellini, since the painter's canvases often showed pinkish hues. The original recipe combines white peach purée with sparkling prosecco, though adding a splash of lemon juice will cut through the stone fruit's sweetness. 

White peaches are best for the cocktail, as they are the sweetest. However, it is delicious with yellow peaches as well.

The first combination of red wine and cola occurred in Spain's Basque Country in the 1920s; decades later, at a festival in the 1970s kalimotxo was introduced. 

Coca-Cola's first factory arrived in the country in the 1950s, expanding the drink's availability. At a 1972 Basque festival, organizers saved a batch of red wine that had gone bad by sweetening it with the American soft drink. Festival attendees loved it, and the cocktail became the kalimotxo. 

Make this drink at home by mixing equal parts inexpensive red wine and cola over ice. It's a great wine cocktail for summer.

The shandygaff, or shandy, is an English pub favorite from the 1800s. Initially made by mixing equal parts beer with ginger ale, today's recipes use lemonade or lemon soda. The difference between a shandy and a radler is that a shandy always includes a lemony drink. 

Served in chilled pint glasses, a shandy is one of the best drinks to mix with lemonade. It's a low-alcohol refreshment with just enough sweetness to cut the beer's bitterness.

Gaspare Campari's bar in Milan first served the Americano cocktail in the 1860s. The Italian cocktail became known as the Americano because American tourists found its flavor refreshing. 

This cocktail combines bitter Campari with sweet vermouth and sparkling water. The combination works so well because the herbaceous, botanical vermouth compliments the citrus and herbal notes of Campari. At the same time, the sweetness of the aromatized wine will cut through the sharpness of the bitter amaro.

Kir Royale honors Canon Felix Kir, WWII hero and Mayor of Dijon, France — where the cocktail originated. The Kir Royale is the Champagne version of the Kir aperitif, the original cocktail containing crème de cassis and the high acid, non-sparkling Bourgogne aligoté wine. Using a sparkling wine other than Champagne creates a Kir Imperial. 

It is best to use the driest sparkling style with racy acidity, like an extra brut. It will cut through the richness of the cassis.

The negroni cocktail dates back over 100 years, to when Count Negroni ordered an Americano cocktail with herbaceous gin instead of sparkling water. The result was a much boozier, aromatic cocktail with a punch. The negroni sbagliato returns to the Americano style, mixing equal parts Campari with sweet vermouth and then topping with prosecco. 

While this cocktail does have more alcohol than the Americano, it still registers less than a classic negroni cocktail.

The combination of Champagne and stout beer is believed to have come about with the death of Prince Philip of England, the husband to Queen Victoria. After his death, the mourning queen wore black for the rest of her life. 

The black-hued Black Velvet cocktail honors the queen, mixing hearty stout and crisp Champagne. Pour equal parts of both very slowly into a chilled flute glass, as they tend to bubble over if poured too quickly.

Corrected coffee, or caffè coretto, became a widespread Italian drink during Mussolini's fascist regime when tariffs on coffee and espresso were high. Italians made coffee alternatives with chicory and orzo, creating bitter beverages with bite. 

Adding alcohol (like brandy, aquavit, or grappa, depending on what part of Italy you were in) cut the drink's bitterness and made them tolerable. Though the cocktail isn't as common today, it remains a delicious, low-alcohol option after dinner.

Amaro Montenegro's name is a tribute to the second queen of Italy, Princess Elena of Montenegro, upon her marriage to Prince Vittorio Emanuele III. The bitter Italian liqueur combines 40 herbs and botanicals including licorice, bitter orange, coriander, and cinnamon, creating a multi-dimensional liqueur.

Montenegro is similar to gin, but with less alcohol. Like gin, its flavor profile perfectly matches tonic. Its citrus, sweet spice, and anise flavors cut through the mixer's sharp quinine taste.

The Addington is classically made by combining sweet Italian vermouth with dry French vermouth in equal parts, then topping with a splash of seltzer. The cocktail first appeared in the 1930 bartending guide "The Savoy Cocktail Book." 

The Addington showcases how delightful a low-alcohol cocktail with quality ingredients can taste. In other words, to make this cocktail sing, use premium vermouth like sweet Carpano Antica Formula with Dolin dry. To elevate it further, add a spritz of effervescent Topo Chico.

The Rossini honors the famous Italian composer Gioachino Rossini. He was one of Italy's most influential, significant artists whose operatic works include "The Barber of Seville" and "Guillaume Tell." 

Like other juice-based sparkling wine cocktails, the drink combines fresh strawberry purée with prosecco. A splash of lemon juice will balance the sweetness. It works best with rosé sparkling wine, as the fresh berry fruit's sweetness enhances the wine's wild berry and cherry flavors. 

Named for Giacomo Puccini, the Italian composer of "La Bohème" and "Madame Butterfly," the Puccini cocktail resembles other fruit-forward Champagne cocktails. The Puccini includes fresh mandarin juice gently mixed with prosecco, creating an elegant cocktail with sweet vanilla and spiced citrus. 

Mandarin juice can be challenging to procure, so swapping tangerine or clementine juice is also delicious. Adding a dash of mandarin liqueur will enhance the cocktail's already sweet flavors.

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