The 6 least fattening cocktails

Make a splash with a skinny cocktail.

Newsweek Magazine created a buzz last summer with their article on the "6 Most Fattening Summer Cocktails", but in all honesty: were you really surprised? Surely it's no shocker that thick Mudslides, sugary Margaritas and frothy Pina Coladas are bad for you. You might just as well put a meatball sub in a blender and sip it through a straw.

What is tricky is finding a slimmer version of a cocktail, when so many of them are packed with sugar and calories. The alcohol itself is calorie-rich from the start, so what do you drink when you want a refreshing libation, but still want to fit into your swimsuit?

The no-brainer way out is to stick with light beers or small glasses of wine, which have less calories than elaborate, multi-ingredient concoctions, or to simply drink wee shots of liquor without the fattening mixers.

Sure, you could do that, but you don't have to. Stick to drinks mixed with low-cal or calorie-free mixers, and stay away from cocktails that mix more than one kind of alcohol (which doubles the calories from the get-go). Here are six cocktails (and by cocktail I mean a real drink with mixers) that won't burst your swimsuit seams.

Six Least Fattening Cocktails (From Most to Least Calories)

#6) The Martini

160k per 2.5 oz. glass

Martinis are practically straight liquor, but shaken with ice and an aromatic splash of vermouth, they have a cocktail sensibility. The taste can be strong for a drinker who likes more flavorful drinks, but the flavor can be enhanced with infused liquors at a cost of zero extra calories. Vanilla-flavored vodka makes a memorable martini, but if you want to be even more daring, try one of the many brands of spicy pepper-infused liquors. Garnished with a chili pepper, the heat might boost your metabolism an extra notch.

Substitute bourbon for vodka or gin and you have a classic Manhattan, which not only tastes sweeter, but comes with a perky cherry garnish (like having a teeny tiny dessert). Even fancy-schmancy Martinis, like Watermelon Martinis made with fresh fruit puree, or a Sour Apple Martini made with apple-flavored vodka and sweet and sour mix, weigh in at considerably less calories than their highball counterparts. It's because the glasses are so much smaller, meaning that even a Martini made with a sugary mixer used only about an ounce or less of it.

Bonus: If you're like me, the delicate stems of a Martini glass mean you'll slosh at least half of it out of the glass as you make your way to the table. Half the calories lost to the carpet in mere seconds!

#5) The Bloody Mary

105k per 6 oz. glass

The beauty of the Bloody Mary as a diet cocktail is that tomato juice has a mere five calories an ounce --compare that to orange juice, which has three times as many. That means you can make it a highball with very little cost to your waistline. Tomato juice is also full of loads of good-for-you stuff like Vitamin C and lycopenes. Most are served with a generous stalk of virtually calorie-free celery to munch on while you sip, so you get free appetizers with each drink.

Jazz it up with extra tabasco or horseradish for twice the kick, plus a way to slow down your drinking: the spicier it is, the less easily you can gulp it. Substitute tequila or whiskey for the vodka, and you have a Bloody Maria or Bloody Molly. Are you normally more fond of big, tropical drinks? Bloody Marys can be made frozen, just like Daiquiris or Coladas, with nothing added but ice.

#4) White Wine Spritzer

 100k per 5 oz. glass

Wine spritzers have suffered a little from a bad reputation, primarily due to being the drink of choice in the 70s and 80s for older women who were watching their waistlines. You rarely saw women under forty drinking a spritzer. Today, everyone is health conscious, so the spritzer has made a comeback. Fashion models, celebrities and trendy barhoppers order spritzers when they want to cut their wine calories in half.

The concept of the spritzer is simple: white wine mixed in equal proportions with club soda, but depending on the wine you use, it can be refreshingly pleasing. And while some might think it's an atrocity to mix a nice Pinot Grigio with anything, it's your body, and if you prefer a spritzer to a beer gut, it's your prerogative. Make a spritzer pretty and pink with a blush wine, or add a squeeze of orange or lime juice for oomph. However many you have, it'll be half the calories of drinking regular wine.

#3) Kahlua and Coffee

91k per 6 oz. glass

The ubiquitousness of Starbucks has made coffee drinks all the rage, but most of the more elaborate offerings really pack on the pounds. Luckily, one of the old standbys of classic cocktails can fulfill your alcohol needs and your caffeine needs with substantially less calorie investment. Kahlua is the most famous brand of coffee-flavored liqueur, but any type will do, and the addition of coffee adds nada to the count. With such a light drink, you can afford to add a bit of skim milk to make it creamy.

Have a Kahlua and coffee in a steaming mug on a cool night, or ask your bartender to serve it on ice in a tall glass. Iced Kahlua and coffee makes a stimulating slimming drink on a hot summer day, and you'll see the results on the scale. Compare it to another summer drink: the same number of calories would get you a mere ounce of Pina Colada.

#2) Mimosa

75k per 4 oz. champagne glass

Being from the South, I'm dizzy with gladness that the Mimosa is on the list of skinny drinks. Southern summertimes are scorchers, and a girl can only drink so many Mint Juleps before her corset gets too tight. There's something delightfully decadent about mimosas --maybe it's that it's socially acceptable to drink them in the morning. Or maybe it's the joie de vivre that champagne embodies. Either way, I'm sold.

Half champagne and half orange juice, the Mimosa is at its best when made with the freshest-squeezed juice imaginable. Don't even worry about which champagne. In all honesty, it doesn't matter. If it makes you happy to buy the expensive stuff, by all means, knock yourself out. The rest of us will be skinnier and richer.

#1) Gin and Tonic, Vodka and Tonic or Rum and Diet

65k per 8 oz. glass

It's a billion-way tie! Maybe not a billion, but at least a dozen. That's because, when you drink a one ounce pour of most liquors and top them off with a non-calorie mixer, you have a drink that's pretty low in calories, no matter what the combination. Be careful, as many places pour 1.5 ounce shots in drinks. Ask for a 1 oz. pour or a skimpy pour and you won't pour out of the top of your jeans.

Whether you choose gin, vodka, whiskey or rum, top it off with a mixer that adds nothing: club soda, Diet Coke or diet tonic waters. Make them special with infused alcohol flavors, baby splashes of juice or sugar-free syrups (though the latter two will add a few calories). Used to drinking more frou-frou concoctions? Ask the bartender to put it in a tall glass with a kitschy umbrella. You'll be visually satisfied and still keep your figure.

Note: All calorie counts are estimates based on one-ounce pours. Calories will vary based on the brands used and your individual bartender's whim. Watch while they pour, and don't be afraid to ask questions or make special requests.

Imbibe safely.

-Liz Kelly