Spirits (40% ABV)
Food · Drink · Food, Typed Supps
The purest form of the thing itself: alcohol, water, and essentially nothing else.
Stage by stage
- Nothing but ethanol (Mouth): No sugar, no nutrients — the composition is alcohol and water.
- Fast absorption (Stomach): Highest concentration of any drink, so absorption is quickest on an empty stomach.
- Metabolism (Liver): Cleared at roughly one standard drink per hour, and that rate cannot be hurried.
- CNS effect (Brain): Peak at 30–90 minutes; the same 10 g of ethanol as any other standard drink.
Timing
Food slows gastric emptying and meaningfully lowers the peak. Nothing speeds up elimination — it runs at roughly one standard drink an hour regardless.
Time to effect
- 30–90 min: Peak blood alcohol.
- ~1 hr per drink: Elimination rate, which coffee, food and cold showers do not change.
Allergens
None of the fourteen major allergens. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.
Eating patterns
Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Kosher, Keto, Gluten-free. Depends on the product: Low-FODMAP.
Cost band
Pricey — roughly £12 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.
Key nutrients
Nutrition per 100g
- Calories: 213
- Carbohydrate: 0.1g
- of which sugars: 0.1g
- Sodium: 3mg
Food vs. supplement
The "zero sugar" framing on spirits is technically accurate and among the more effective pieces of misdirection in drinks marketing: it draws attention to the one macronutrient that is absent from the most calorie-dense thing in the room.
Kitchen tip
Buy a 30 mL jigger. It is the only reliable way to know what you are actually drinking, and the answer usually surprises people.
Common myth
“Spirits are the low-calorie option because there’s no sugar.” In reality: Ethanol carries 29 kJ per gram, just behind fat, so spirits are the most energy-dense drink on the shelf at 213 calories per 100 g. The absent sugar is real and irrelevant. What does change the count is the mixer and the pour: a free-poured spirit is usually close to two standard drinks, and in a mixed drink the mixer often supplies more calories than the alcohol.
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