Alcoholic Beverage

Food · Drink · Food, Typed Supps

Almost all the energy in a spirit comes from the alcohol itself, not from sugar.

Stage by stage

Intake (No digestion required): Ethanol is small and water-soluble, so it begins crossing into the blood without being digested.
Stomach (Partial absorption and first pass): Roughly a fifth absorbs gastrically; food in the stomach slows emptying and blunts the peak.
Small intestine (Rapid uptake): The remainder absorbs quickly and distributes through total body water.
Liver (Fixed-rate clearance): The liver clears roughly one standard drink an hour and nothing raises that rate.

Time to effect

Hours: Blood alcohol peaks 30 to 90 minutes after drinking; the liver clears roughly one standard drink per hour.

Allergens

None of the fourteen major allergens. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.

Eating patterns

Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Halal, Kosher, Keto, Gluten-free. Depends on the product: Low-FODMAP.

Satiety

Not scored: the satiety index is measured on 240 kcal servings, and nobody eats a 240 kcal serving of this. The question does not apply rather than the answer being unknown.

Cost band

Cheap — roughly £2.5 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.

Key nutrients

Ethanol
Water

Nutrition per 100g

Calories: 213
Protein: 0g
Carbohydrate: 0.1g
of which sugars: 0.1g
Fat: 0g
of which saturated: 0g
Fibre: 0g
Sodium: 3mg

Food vs. supplement

No supplement comparison applies. The relevant nutritional point runs the other way: sustained heavy intake impairs thiamine absorption and storage.

Kitchen tip

The mixer usually decides the energy content of the drink. Soda or plain water adds none; regular soft drink can add more than the spirit does.

Common myth

“Spirits have no sugar, so they are the lighter choice.” In reality: The energy is in the alcohol, not the sugar. Ethanol carries about 29 kJ per gram against 17 for carbohydrate, so a nip of spirit is a few hundred kilojoules before any mixer is added.