How Many Calories Are in a Shot of Rum? Plus Vodka, Whiskey, Beer and Wine

A standard 1.5 oz shot of 80 proof rum has about 97 calories. That figure comes from the USDA’s nutrient database, it is the same number the NIAAA uses in its drink calculator, and it is the same for vodka, gin, whiskey and tequila at the same proof. Almost all of it is the alcohol itself. An unflavored rum has no carbohydrates, no sugar and no fat to speak of, so the calories rise and fall with one thing only: how much alcohol is in the glass.

This page also covers vodka, whiskey, beer, wine and hard seltzer. Everything below is measured the same way so you can compare across the shelf.

Why the proof is the whole story

Pure alcohol carries 7 calories per gram. That sits between carbohydrate and protein (4 per gram) and fat (9 per gram). A distilled spirit is alcohol and water, so once you know the proof and the pour, the calories are arithmetic:

fl oz × 29.57 × ABV × 0.789 × 7 = calories from alcohol

Worked through for a 1.5 oz shot at 40% ABV: 1.5 × 29.57 = 44.4 mL of liquid, 40% of that is 17.7 mL of alcohol, alcohol weighs 0.789 grams per mL so that is 14.0 grams, and 14 grams at 7 calories each is 98. The USDA’s measured value is 97; the difference is rounding. The same 14 grams is what the US government calls one standard drink, which is why a shot of spirits, a 12 oz beer at 5% and a 5 oz glass of wine at 12% all land near the same number.

Rum by proof

Rum is sold at more strengths than most spirits, so the range is wide. These are alcohol-only figures for a 1.5 oz jigger and for a 1 oz pour, which is closer to what many “shot glasses” actually hold.

Proof (ABV)	1.5 oz	1 oz	Typical bottles
70 (35%)	86	57	Captain Morgan Original Spiced and most spiced rums
80 (40%)	97	65	Bacardi Superior, most white, gold and dark rums
86 (43%)	105	70	Some aged and Navy-style rums
100 (50%)	124	82	Cask-strength and some Jamaican rums
151 (75.5%)	185	123	Overproof rums used as floats

Two things the table does not capture. Flavored rums (coconut, pineapple, banana and the like) are usually bottled at 21% to 35% ABV, which lowers the alcohol calories, but many of them add sugar, which puts calories back. The brand’s own label is the only reliable source for those. And overproof rum is rarely drunk as a shot; a half-ounce float on top of a cocktail is about 60 calories on its own.

If proof is new to you, what 80 proof actually means covers it, and the rum types guide explains what separates white, gold, dark and spiced.

Vodka, whiskey, gin and tequila

At 80 proof they are all the same shot: about 97 calories per 1.5 oz, 65 per 1 oz, zero carbohydrates. There is no vodka that is lighter than another vodka at the same strength, and there is no whiskey that is heavier than rum at the same strength. Where they differ is the proof they are commonly sold at. Bottled-in-bond bourbon is 100 proof (about 124 calories per shot). Barrel-proof whiskeys at 120 to 130 proof run 150 to 160. Many tequilas and vodkas sit at exactly 80. Flavored vodkas are the exception to the carbohydrate rule: whipped-cream, vanilla and fruit vodkas are often 30% to 35% ABV with added sugar, and again the label is the source.

Beer

Beer is where the proof-only rule stops working, because beer keeps some of the grain sugars that fermentation did not convert. The USDA average for a 12 oz regular beer at about 5% ABV is 153 calories, roughly 98 from alcohol and the rest from carbohydrate. A 12 oz light beer averages 103. Strong craft beer scales fast: at 7% the alcohol alone is about 137 calories and at 9% about 176, before counting the residual sugar that makes those styles taste the way they do. How much alcohol is in beer has the ABV ranges by style.

Hard seltzer

A 12 oz can of White Claw at 5% ABV is 100 calories with 2 grams of carbohydrate, by the brand’s own label. That is nearly all alcohol, which is the whole point of the category: it is a 5% drink with almost nothing else in the can. Truly and the other majors publish similar numbers for their standard lines; the higher-ABV and “lemonade” versions of the same brands are higher, so read the can rather than assume.

Wine

The USDA averages are 125 calories for 5 oz of red wine and 121 for 5 oz of white. Those assume a 12% to 13% wine. A lot of what is on the shelf now is 13.5% to 15%, which adds 10 to 25 calories a glass, and off-dry or sweet wines add sugar on top. The bigger variable is the pour. A 5 oz glass is the measured standard; a home pour is commonly 8 or 9 oz, which turns a 125 calorie glass into a 200 calorie one. How much alcohol is in wine and how many glasses are in a bottle cover the ABV and the pour math.

What the mixer adds

A rum and coke is a 97 calorie shot plus whatever is in the glass with it. A 12 oz can of regular cola is 140 calories by its label, and a typical highball uses four to six ounces of it, so the mixer often outweighs the spirit. Soda water and diet mixers add nothing. Juice, tonic, cream liqueurs and pre-made cocktail mixes add a lot; a frozen daiquiri or a hurricane from a mix can be several hundred calories before the rum goes in. If you want the number for a specific drink, add the spirit from the formula above to the mixer’s label.

The short version

Calories in a drink come from alcohol first and sugar second. For any spirit, proof and pour size are the only two numbers that matter, and the formula above will get you within a calorie or two of the lab value. For beer and wine, add the residual sugar and watch the pour. For anything flavored or pre-mixed, the label beats every estimate.

None of this is nutrition or medical guidance; it is a measuring guide for a product we sell. If you are working alcohol into a plan for your health, that is a conversation for a doctor or a dietitian, not a liquor delivery blog.

Calorie figures: USDA FoodData Central averages as used in the NIAAA Rethinking Drinking calorie calculator (regular beer 153, light beer 103, red wine 125, white wine 121, 80 proof spirits 97, 100 proof 124, all per standard serving). Proof-based figures for other strengths are calculated from 7 kcal per gram of alcohol at 0.789 g/mL. Hard seltzer and cola figures are from the brands’ published labels. Last checked September 2026.