It’s five o’clock somewhere, and that bottle of bourbon is calling your name. Meanwhile, in your other ear, your conscience is whispering, “Remember, you’re on a keto diet.” But we’re here to tell you there’s no need to feel guilty. Go ahead and grab your favorite bottle, because surprisingly, bourbon is 100% keto-friendly.
Unlike beer, which can interfere with your keto diet, spirits have zero carbohydrates. Just remember that this rule applies only to the liquor. If you start adding other ingredients to make bourbon cocktails, you’ll need to reconsider. For example, unflavored rum, vodka, gin, and even tea are keto-friendly, but flavored liquors, soda, and fruit juices are not. The whole point of this diet is to eat as few carbs as possible, replacing them with fats and protein. While the diet was originally developed to treat epilepsy, many people now follow it to lose weight or improve their health.
Distilling makes the difference
But wait, you may ask, isn’t bourbon made from corn, rye, and barley? They contain carbs, so why doesn’t the bourbon? You can chalk it up to the distillation process. When the grain mash is cooked, the vaporizing alcohol is captured and the solids are left behind. It typically goes through one more distillation, ending up at about 135-proof alcohol, with not a carb to be found.
A glass of bourbon also has less than a gram of sugar — and no added sugar (except for flavored bourbons, which are not keto-friendly). This gives it a low glycemic index, the measure of a food’s potential to raise blood sugar, which is also something people look for when they’re following the keto diet. That’s because high glycemic index foods can disrupt the process of ketosis, where the body burns fat instead of carbs for energy. Either way, at the end of the day, it’s nice to know you can still indulge in a few pleasures without getting in the way of your goals.
