Tonic water is a carbonated soft drink that contains quinine as a bittering agent. It is commonly used as a mixer with liquor, especially gin, to create cocktails like the gin and tonic. While tonic water provides the classic bitter flavor that balances sweet liquor, many brands contain a surprising amount of added sugar and calories. For health-conscious cocktail enthusiasts, understanding which tonic waters are lowest in calories can help cut back on unwanted sugar and calories while still enjoying delicious mixed drinks.
What are the lowest calorie tonic waters?
Some of the most popular low calorie tonic water brands include:
- Q Tonic Water – 0 calories
- Fentimans Light Tonic Water – 17 calories per 4oz
- Fever Tree Light Tonic Water – 17 calories per 4oz
- Schweppes Diet Tonic Water – 0 calories
- Canada Dry Diet Tonic Water – 0 calories
These brands all have less than 20 calories per 4oz serving, compared to around 60 calories in a standard tonic water. Q Tonic Water and the diet/light varieties from Schweppes and Canada Dry have 0 calories, making them the absolute lowest in calories.
Regular vs Diet/Light Tonic Waters
What’s the difference?
Regular tonic water gets its sweet flavor primarily from added sugar. Diet or light tonic waters use artificial sweeteners instead to reduce the calorie content while still providing sweetness. Popular artificial sweeteners used in diet tonics include aspartame, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, and stevia.
While any diet or light tonic will be lower in calories than regular tonic water, there can be differences in taste as well as how many calories are in each serving. Let’s compare two popular options:
Schweppes Diet Tonic Water
- 0 calories
- Uses sucralose and acesulfame potassium as sweeteners
- Considered very close to the taste of original Schweppes Tonic Water
Fever Tree Light Tonic Water
- 17 calories per 4oz serving
- Uses cane sugar and stevia for sweetness
- Has a lighter, more delicate flavor than original
While the Fever Tree Light has a small amount of calories, some people prefer the more natural taste from using stevia over artificial sweeteners.
The bottom line
If limiting calories is your top priority, look for diet tonic waters with 0 calories. But if you want something closer to the taste of regular tonic, the light tonics with minimal calories could work well.
Q Tonic Water
The details
One brand that stands out as a truly low calorie option is Q Tonic Water. Here are the key details:
- 0 calories
- Uses sucralose as the sweetener
- Has a crisp, clean taste with subtle bitterness
- Quinine provides digestive health benefits
- Free of artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives
- Caffeine-free
With no calories or artificial additives, Q Tonic Water aligns closely with consumer demand for clean, low calorie beverages. And it still provides the refreshment and touch of bitterness that works well in cocktails.
Taste profile
Compared to old fashioned tonic waters, Q Tonic has a lighter, more delicate flavor profile described as:
- Crisp
- Clean
- Lemony
- Balanced
There is a subtle bitterness from the quinine, but it is smooth and refined. Overall, this is a tonic that blends seamlessly into cocktails without overpowering other flavors. It provides the needed bitter profile to balance sweetness, while refreshing the palate with subtle citrus and carbonation.
Uses
With zero calories and a crisp, clean taste, Q Tonic can be used in place of regular tonic water in any cocktail. It’s the perfect choice for classic gin and tonics as well as specialty cocktails like:
- Vodka or aquavit mixed with tonic
- Aperol spritz made with tonic instead of prosecco
- Tonic mojitos
- Bitter lemon cocktails
For those watching their sugar and calorie intake, Q Tonic enables you to stick to a healthy diet while still enjoying delicious mixed drinks.
Fentimans Light Tonic Water
Nutrition info
Fentimans brews a variety of traditional botanical sodas. Their Light Tonic Water offers a lower calorie option with these nutrition facts:
- 17 calories per 4oz serving
- 4g sugar per 4oz
Compared to 60+ calories and 15g of sugar in regular tonic, this light version cuts way back on calories and added sugar.
Ingredients
Fentimans Light Tonic Water contains:
- Carbonated water
- Cane sugar
- Citric acid
- Natural flavors
- Quinine
- Stevia
Stevia is used in conjunction with cane sugar to reduce the calorie content. And natural flavors provide the subtle bitter note in place of artificial sweeteners or preservatives.
Taste
This tonic water has a lighter, more delicate flavor than original Fentimans Tonic. It has subtle bitterness with a clean, crisp finish.
The natural flavors make it taste fresher than diet tonics with artificial sweeteners. While not completely identical to sugary tonic water, it provides an impressively close flavor profile given the significant reduction in calories and sugar.
Fever Tree Light Tonic Water
Stats
Like Fentimans, Fever Tree also produces a Light Tonic Water as a lower calorie option:
- 17 calories per 4oz serving
- Uses cane sugar and stevia for sweetness
- Slightly less bitter than original Fever Tree Tonic
This gives you a very similar nutrition profile and ingredient list to Fentimans Light Tonic, with virtually identical calories and sweetening agents.
Taste
Fever Tree Light Tonic Water has subtle bitter flavors with light lemon and lime citrus notes. It finishes crisp and clean, with less overpowering bitterness than standard Fever Tree Tonic.
Overall, this light tonic has a fresh, delicate flavor that blends well with liquors without dominating the flavor profile.
Uses
This refreshingly subtle tonic water can create lower calorie versions of:
- Gin and tonic
- Vodka tonic
- Rum and tonic
It also works nicely with fruity liquors to let their flavors shine:
- Flavored gin cocktails
- Citrus vodka drinks
- Mojitos with light rum
Schweppes Diet Tonic Water
Zero calories
Schweppes Diet Tonic Water contains:
- 0 calories
- 0g carbs, sugar, protein, or fat
This gives you the lowest calorie tonic option possible.
Sweeteners
To provide sweetness without sugar, Schweppes Diet Tonic Water uses:
- Acesulfame potassium
- Sucralose
These artificial sweeteners add sweetness with no calories, allowing this to be a true zero calorie beverage.
Taste
Schweppes Diet Tonic has a very similar flavor profile to regular Schweppes Tonic. It provides classic bitter flavors expected in tonic water, with a clean finish.
The artificial sweeteners provide a decent sweetness, though some people note a slightly more bitter aftertaste compared to sugary tonics. But overall, this is one of the closest tasting diet tonics compared to the original.
Canada Dry Diet Tonic Water
Nutrition facts
Like Schweppes, Canada Dry also produces a diet tonic with:
- 0 calories
- 0g carbs, sugar, protein and fat
This gives you maximum taste with no calories or carbs.
Flavor
Canada Dry Diet Tonic Water provides classic tonic flavor with notes of:
- Citrus
- Lime
- Bitterness
The citrus notes give this a fresh taste. And it has a clean finish with crisp carbonation.
Some find it has a slightly more artificial sweet taste compared to Schweppes. But overall it still provides bitter tonic flavor with no calories.
Tonic Water Alternatives
In addition to low and zero calorie tonic waters, some other options provide the bitter flavor needed to balance cocktails with fewer calories and less sugar:
Club soda
Plain club soda is just carbonated water and 0 calories. Adding a splash of bitters like Angostura provides some bitterness to make up for no tonic. Works well in simple gin and tonics. Not as flavorful on its own.
Sparkling water
Like club soda, sparkling waters like LaCroix or Perrier give carbonation without calories, and you can add bitters. Less bitterness than tonic, but allows you to control flavored additions.
Kombucha
Flavored kombuchas add complexity along with bitterness. They contain sugars and around 60 calories per serving, but can create interesting flavor combinations. Juniper lemon kombucha works well in gin cocktails.
Hop waters
Waters infused with hops provide bitterness reminiscent of tonic. Brands like Hoplark and Hop Water are around 25-50 calories per bottle. Crisp with bitter, herbal flavor.
Creating Low Calorie Cocktails with Diet Tonic
Using a diet tonic water is an easy way to turn full-sugar cocktails into low calorie versions. Try these ideas:
Skinny gin and tonic
– 2oz gin
– 5oz diet tonic water
– Lime wedge
85 calories – skinny yet still delicious!
Vodka soda with lemon
– 2oz vodka
– 4oz club soda
– Squeeze of lemon
– 2 dashes bitters
~100 calories
Light rum and tonic
– 1.5oz light rum
– 3oz diet tonic
– Lime wedge
– Mint sprig
105 calories
Tequila lime refresher
– 2oz tequila
– 3oz diet tonic
– Squeeze of lime
– Lime wedge
130 calories
Choosing the Best Low Calorie Tonic Water
Considerations
With an array of low and zero calorie tonics to choose from, here are some factors to consider:
- Calories – If limiting calories is most important, choose a 0 calorie diet tonic.
- Ingredients – Natural vs. artificial sweeteners impact taste and health preferences.
- Flavors – Subtler light tonics blend well without overpowering drinks.
- Brand – Stick to major brands for most reliable taste.
Balancing these factors will depend on your specific goals and preferences around calories, ingredients, and flavor.
The best options
Based on nutrition stats and taste reviews, the best tonics are:
- Q Tonic – If you want 0 calorie without artificial sweeteners
- Fever Tree Light – For crisp flavor with minimal calories
- Schweppes Diet – To stay as close to original as possible but 0 calories
For the lowest calories, any diet tonic will work well. Choosing among light varieties comes down to taste preferences.
The Bottom Line
Key takeaways
To find the lowest calorie tonic waters:
- Look for diet/light options which are 0-17 calories per serving
- Q Tonic, Fever Tree, Fentimans, Schweppes, and Canada Dry make the best low/no calorie tonics
- Diet tonics use artificial sweeteners; light tonics use stevia
- Any diet tonic can create low calorie cocktails
- Balance calories, ingredients, and flavor to find your perfect tonic
Choosing a lower calorie tonic allows you to enjoy delicious cocktails without excess sugars or calories. Just be sure to assess your priorities for nutrition stats, ingredients used, and flavor when selecting the best low calorie tonic. Cheers!
