St. Patrick's Day - or the Feast of Saint Patrick (the Day of the Festival of Patrick) - celebrates the foremost patron saint of Ireland. But when St. Patrick's Day rolls around, it is a lot of fun for people from around the world regardless of their heritage.

When you're living with diabetes, it isn't fun when you make bad decisions when it comes to choosing what to drink. Whether it's green beer or Irish whiskey, this guide will help you sort through the most popular drink options so you can choose what works best for you.

This St. Patrick's Day drink guide includes beer, wine, spirits, mixed drinks and cocktails, shooters, juices, mixers, and non-alcoholic drinks. You'll be able to make an informed decision for just about any drink that comes your way without turning green on a day of green.

Two things to be mindful of when choosing something to drink are the amount of carbohydrates it provides and whether or not it contains alcohol, which affects blood sugar levels differently for different people.

The following charts show the amount of carbs per serving in beverages commonly served on St. Paddy's Day.

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BeverageCarbohydrate
Beer, Guinness Draft Pint
16-oz
17 grams
Guinness Draught Bottle
12-oz
9.8 grams
Beer, Guinness Extra Stout
12-oz Bottle
14 grams
Beer, Guinness Black Lager
12-oz Bottle
11 grams
Beer, Guinness Kaliber (non-alcohol)
12-oz Bottle
10.3 grams
Beer, Harp
12-oz
13 grams
Beer, George Killian's Irish Red Amber Lager (5.0% alc.)
12-oz
14.4 grams
Smithwick's Irish Ale
12-oz
15 grams
Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale
12-oz
17 grams
Murphy's Irish Stout
12-oz
13.2 grams
Coopers Stout
12-oz
10.9 grams
Green Beer (usually just regular beer colored green)
12-oz
12 grams
Beer, Lite
12-oz
5 grams
Beer, Regular
12-oz
12 grams
Beer, Dark
12-oz
Up to 25 grams
Beer, Non-Alcoholic
12-oz
5-12 grams
Whiskey
Per Ounce
0 grams
Irish Coffee
Per Standard Serving
8 grams
Irish Cream and Coffee
Per Standard Serving
8 grams

Wines and Spirits

Wine Cooler
12-oz
up to 30 grams
White Wine
5-oz
4 grams
Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio
5-oz
3 grams
White Wine
5-oz
4 grams
White Zinfandel Wine
5-oz
4 grams
Chenin Blanc, Riesling and Semillon
5-oz
5 grams
Dry Red Wine
5-oz
3 to 4 grams
Sweet/Dessert Wine
5-oz
12 to 20 grams
Liqueurs like Amaretto and Kahlua
Per Ounce
17 grams
Sambuca, Cointreau, and Bailey's Irish Cream
Per Ounce
5 to 7 grams
Vodka
Per Ounce
0 grams
Rum
Per Ounce
0 grams
Gin
Per Ounce
0 grams
Tequila
Per Ounce
0 grams
Whiskey
Per Ounce
0 grams
Scotch
Per Ounce
0 grams
Brandy
Per Ounce
0 grams
Cognac
Per Ounce
0 grams
Southern Comfort
Per Ounce
3 grams
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Mixed Drinks

Unsweetened vodka, rum, gin, tequila, whiskey, scotch, brandy, and cognac have zero carbs. When added to a zero-carb mixer, such as diet cola, you end up with a zero-carb drink.

Mixed DrinkCarbohydrate
Gin and Tonic
Per Serving
15 grams
Rum & Regular Cola
Per Serving
15 grams
Rum & Diet Cola
Per Serving
0 grams
Black Russian
Per Serving
16 grams
Bloody Mary
Per Serving
5 grams
Fuzzy Navel
Per Serving
38 grams
Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri
Per Serving
44 grams
Kamikaze
Per Serving
15 grams
Long Island Iced Tea
Per Serving
10 grams
Manhattan
Per Serving
2 grams
Margarita, Classic
Per Serving
11-25 grams
Margarita, Frozen
Per Serving
12-96 grams
Mint Julep
Per Serving
8 grams
Old Fashioned
Per Serving
5 grams
Martini
Per Serving
0-1 grams
Mojito
Per Serving
25 grams
Pina Colada
Per Serving
30-50 grams
Seabreeze
Per Serving
20 grams
Screwdriver (vodka & OJ)
Per Serving
19 grams
Sloe Gin Fizz
Per Serving
3 grams
Tequila Sunrise
Per Serving
15 grams
Tom Collins
Per Serving
3 grams
White Russian
Per Serving
16 grams

Shots, or shooters, are usually about 1-1/2 ounces per serving. Here's what to expect for some of the more commonly served shooters.

Shots / ShootersCarbohydrate
Alabama Slammer
1.5 ounces
8 grams
Amaretto Sour
1.5 ounces
19 grams
Fuzzy Navel
1.5 ounces
19 grams
Jager Bomb
1.5 ounces
14 grams
Jello Shots
1.5 ounces
3-4 grams
Kamikaze
1.5 ounces
19 grams
Mud Slide
1.5 ounces
19 grams
Gin, Rum, Tequila, Whiskey, Vodka
1.5 ounces
0 grams
Snake Bite
1.5 ounces
1-2 grams
Southern Comfort
1.5 ounces
3 grams

Non-Alcoholic Options

For non-alcoholic beverages: Select diet sodas, seltzer or club soda instead of regular soda or tonic water. Non-diet sodas can contain as much as 49 grams of carbohydrate per serving compared to zero carbs in a diet version.

BeverageCarbs per 8-ozCarbs per 12-oz
Diet Soda0g0g
Regular Soda23g35g
Regular Cream Soda33g49g
Seltzer / Club Soda0g0g
Tonic Water22g32g
Iced Tea, Unsweetened0.4g0.6g
Iced Tea, Sweetened22g33g
Coffee, black0g
Coffee with cream & sugar15g
Milk12g
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For juice choices, watch out for "juice cocktail" juice drinks, which may be a blend of juices and sweeteners. Tomato juice, V-8 juice and grapefruit juice have among the lowest carbs.

If you plan to drink grapefruit juice, make sure it does not interfere with your medications, such as those for high cholesterol and blood pressure.

There are also "light" juices available, including Trop 50 and Ocean Spray Light Cranberry Juice, which have less carbs (see the chart below).

JuiceCarbohydrate per 8-ounces
Tomato Juice5g
V-8 Juice10g
Grapefruit juice 11g
Grape juice 19g
Orange juice 26g
Orange juice, light (Trop 50) 13g
Apple juice, unsweetened 29g
Passion fruit juice 32g
Pineapple juice 34g
Pomegranate juice32g
Cranberry juice, regular 30g
Cranberry juice cocktail 34g
Cranberry juice, light (Ocean Spray) 11g

Alcoholic Beverages

Most people with diabetes can drink alcohol safely if they drink in moderation, which means an occasional drink or two. But there are some important points to remember. Drinking alcohol on an empty stomach can cause low blood glucose or hypoglycemia. This is a particular risk in diabetics using oral medications or insulin. Low blood sugar can cause shaking, dizziness, and collapse -- which means that some people may mistake your behavior as drunkenness and fail to offer or seek medical attention.

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Some oral diabetes medications, like tolbutamide (Orinase) and chlorpropamide (Diabinese, Glucamide), can cause dizziness, flushing, and nausea when combined with alcohol. It is a good idea to contact your doctor, or even your pharmacist, with questions about the safety of drinking when taking these and other diabetes medications.

Finally, don't drink and drive. Depending on how much you weigh, you can be considered an impaired driver after 2 drinks and legally drunk after 3 drinks. If you plan on drinking alcohol, limit yourself and/or find a designated driver. If you want to estimate your blood alcohol content, then try this Blood Alcohol Content Calculator.

One drink is considered:

  • 12 ounces beer
  • 5 ounces of wine
  • 1.5 ounces of hard liquor