Vodka cocktails: Eight low-sugar cocktails to help you stick to your health goals

Mid-February is rapidly approaching - it's definitely no longer acceptable to wish someone a "belated Happy New Year" (that wore out its welcome by January 15) and many Kiwis will have already ditched their resolutions.

If you swore to become the healthiest and fittest version of you on January 1, you're not alone. New research from WW (formerly Weight Watchers) Global Health & Wellness Study found nearly half of Kiwis (41 percent) are struggling to create and maintain a balanced, healthy lifestyle. Meanwhile, 48 percent are prioritising weight loss in 2022 - yet 49 percent don't know what to believe about health and wellness with the abundance of contradictory information available. 

While creating a balanced and healthier lifestyle is a jigsaw puzzle with a number of pieces (water intake, nutritious meals, exercise, stretching, mindfulness, meditation - argh!), one thing people might be forgetting is that cheeky tipple you enjoy with friends, after work and with Netflix is contributing a number of calories to your daily diet. While water may be calorie-free, vodka and soda water isn't - and too many alcoholic beverages per week can hinder your progress. 

Cocktails are particularly caloric - according to MedlinePlus, your Chocolate Martini adds around 418 calories, a Pina Colada adds around 526, and a White Russian around 568. Of course, everything in moderation - no one's telling you to stop enjoying a drink with your friends. But it is something to be aware of when trying to stick to health-related goals. 

And if cutting the cockys cold turkey isn't something you can realistically achieve (I mean, who could?), opting for low-sugar options is always an alternative. 

And help is on the way - Smirnoff and mastermind mixologist Chase Bickerton have created 100 better-for-you, bespoke beverages as part of Smirnoff's ambitious 100 Days, 100 Ways campaign. The campaign challenged the team to create a new Smirnoff-based recipe, every day, for 100 days of summer, based on daily news, events and trends. Most, if not all of the cocktails are lower in sugar than traditional recipes, but don't sacrifice taste.

Of course, Smirnoff can be substituted for other vodkas such as Absolut - which is also sugar-free - or support local with New Zealand-made Scapegrace or Broken Shed Vodka.

Here are eight recipes we're sure will tickle your pickle:

The Headliner

• 30ml Smirnoff Vodka
• 4ml Angostura Bitters
• 120ml soda water
• 2 fresh lime wedges.

1. Add 30ml Smirnoff Vodka into a red solo cup
2. Squeeze 2 lime wedges and drop into the cup
3. Add 2 dashes of Angostura Bitters
4. Fill with ice then charge with soda water
5. Stir well.

The Mixtape

• 30ml Smirnoff Vodka
• 60ml orange juice
• 60ml soda water
• 1 fresh orange wedge.

1. Chill a highball glass
2. Into the glass add 30ml Smirnoff Vodka, 60ml orange juice and 60ml soda water
3. Fill the glass with ice and stir to combine the ingredients, top with more ice
4. Garnish with an orange wedge.

The Sunday Sesh

• 30ml Smirnoff Vodka
• 15ml honey syrup (2 parts honey - 1 part water)
• 15ml fresh lemon juice
• 90ml apple juice
• 2 fresh lemon wedges.

1. Chill a highball glass
2. Into a cocktail shaker add 30ml Smirnoff Vodka, 15ml honey syrup, 15ml lemon juice and 90ml apple
3. juice
4. Add ice to the cocktail shaker, close and shake hard
5. Strain over ice in the highball glass
6. Garnish with 2 lemon wedges.

The #FREED Britney

• 30ml Smirnoff Vodka
• 15ml Cointreau
• 10ml rich syrup (2 parts sugar - 1 part water)
• 19ml fresh lemon juice
• 100ml cranberry juice.

1. Chill a highball glass
2. Into the glass add 30ml Smirnoff Vodka, 15ml Cointreau, 10ml rich syrup and 10ml lemon juice
3. Fill the glass with ice
4. Charge with cranberry juice and stir to combine
5. Garnish with love and raise a toast to her freedom.

The You're On Mute

• 30ml Smirnoff Vodka
• 15ml fresh lemon juice
• 15ml passionfruit syrup
• 30ml green tea
• 30ml soda water
• fresh lemon wedge.

1. Chill a highball glass
2. Into the glass add 30ml Smirnoff Vodka, 15ml each of lemon juice and passionfruit syrup and 30ml of cold green tea
3. Fill the glass with ice
   
4. Charge with soda water and stir, top up with more ice if required
5. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

The Squid Game

• 30ml Smirnoff Vodka
• 60ml apple juice
• 60ml Red Bull
• 20ml honey syrup (2 parts honey - 1 part water)
• 1 fresh apple (4 slices).

1. Chill a highball glass
2. Into the glass add 30ml Smirnoff Vodka, 20ml honey syrup, 60ml apple juice and 60ml Red Bull
3. Fill the glass with ice and stir to combine
4. Garnish with an apple fan (slice four thin half-moons of fresh apple and fan out on top of the cocktail).

The 30

• 30ml Smirnoff Vodka
• 30ml fresh lime juice
• 30ml Cointreau
• 1 fresh lime husk.

1. Chill a highball glass
2. Into a cocktail shaker add 30ml Smirnoff Vodka, 30ml lime juice and 30ml Cointreau
3. Add ice to the cocktail shaker, close and shake hard
4. Strain into the chilled and empty martini glass
5. Garnish with a lime husk.

The Bat-Tail

• 30ml Smirnoff Vodka
• 15ml fresh lime juice
• 15ml honey syrup (2 parts honey - 1 part water)
• 15ml coffee liqueur
• 90ml cola.

1. Chill a highball glass
2. Into the glass add 30ml Smirnoff Vodka, 15ml lime juice, 15ml honey syrup and 15ml coffee liqueur
3. Fill the glass with ice
4. Charge with cola and stir to combine.