Bourbon Carb Content

Bourbon and Carbs: What Cyclists Should Know

Cycling nutrition questions have gotten complicated with all the macro tracking and diet trends flying around. As someone who enjoys a good whiskey on rest days, I learned everything there is to know about where bourbon fits if you’re watching carbs or tracking macros.

Weird topic for a cycling nutrition site? Maybe. But enough people ask about alcohol and training that it’s worth addressing.

The Short Answer

Probably should have led with this section, honestly. Straight bourbon has essentially zero carbs. The distillation process removes virtually all sugars. A 1.5oz shot is about 97 calories from pure alcohol, not from carbohydrates.

This makes bourbon (and other straight spirits like whiskey, vodka, gin, tequila) technically low-carb friendly. The caveat: alcohol itself isn’t exactly health food.

Compared to Other Drinks

Beer: 10-15g carbs per bottle for regular, 3-7g for light beer. Those carbs add up over a few drinks.

Wine: 3-4g for dry wines, 10g+ for sweet wines. Moderate.

Bourbon neat: 0g carbs. Mixed with regular cola? Add 39g carbs from the soda.

If carb counting matters to you, spirits with zero-calorie mixers (diet soda, soda water) have clear advantages over beer.

The Performance Reality

Alcohol impairs recovery. Period. Even moderate drinking after training reduces muscle protein synthesis, disrupts sleep quality, and affects hormone balance.

The carb content of your drink is honestly the least important factor. A beer after a long ride isn’t derailing your diet – it’s just not helping your recovery.

If you’re going to drink (most of us do sometimes), the carb math is secondary to simply keeping quantities reasonable.

Cocktail Carb Traps

Where carbs sneak in: simple syrup, fruit juices, tonic water (not diet), liqueurs.

An Old Fashioned has about 9g carbs from the sugar. A Mint Julep around 14g. A Bourbon Sour about 8g. These aren’t huge numbers unless you’re drinking multiple or on a strict keto diet.

Easy fixes: use sugar substitutes, opt for bourbon and diet cola, or just drink it neat or on the rocks.

Blood Sugar Considerations

For diabetics or anyone monitoring blood sugar closely: alcohol complicates things.

Bourbon itself won’t spike blood sugar. But alcohol interferes with the liver’s ability to release glucose. Combined with exercise-induced glycogen depletion, this can actually cause low blood sugar in some situations.

Drinking after a hard workout when glycogen stores are depleted deserves caution. At minimum, eat something with carbs if you’re going to drink.

My Approach

That’s what makes understanding alcohol and cycling endearing to us riders who enjoy life off the bike too. I enjoy bourbon occasionally. Usually on rest days or well after any training is done. One or two drinks, not more.

The carb content isn’t something I track because it’s negligible. The alcohol’s effect on sleep and recovery matters more. Limiting frequency and quantity handles both.

If you’re serious about athletic performance, alcohol is a drag whether it has carbs or not. But for recreational cyclists who also want to enjoy life, bourbon is a reasonable choice if you’re going to drink. Just don’t pretend it’s part of your nutrition plan.