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Calories in a Drink

Alcohol carries 7 kcal a gram — above carbohydrate and protein at 4, below fat at 9. A 350 mL bottle of 17% spirit holds about 47 g of alcohol and 330 kcal. Food alongside it is not included.

Your numbers

Calories from drink

329kcal

Pure alcohol (g)

46.9g

Minutes to burn

38min

Formula

Calories from drink = Volume (mL) × ABV (%) ÷ 100 × 0.789 × 7

Alcohol calories are not stored; they get burned first, which pushes fat oxidation to the back of the queue. That is why the effect on weight is often worse than the calorie count suggests.

What to enter

InputDefaultAccepted range
Volume (mL) (mL)How much drink went down; with the strength it gives pure alcohol.3500 and up
ABV (%) (%)The share of the drink that is alcohol, by volume.170 ~ 96
Weight (kg) (kg)The second weight you are comparing against.701 and up

Step by step

FormulaCalories from drink = Volume (mL) × ABV (%) ÷ 100 × 0.789 × 7
With the default numbersCalories from drink = 350 × 17 ÷ 100 × 0.789 × 7
AnswerCalories from drink = 329 kcal

Quick reference table

Results when only Volume (mL) (mL) changes and everything else stays put.

Volume (mL) (mL)Calories from drink (kcal)Pure alcohol (g) (g)Minutes to burn (min)
17516423.519
26324735.329
35032946.938
52549370.457
70065793.977

What each result means

ResultAt default values
Calories from drink (kcal)Energy from the alcohol itself, at 7 kcal a gram.329
Pure alcohol (g) (g)The weight of alcohol you drank — volume times 0.789.46.9
Minutes to burn (min)How long it takes to burn that off with exercise.38

Common mistakes

Alcohol calories are not stored; they get burned first, which pushes fat oxidation to the back of the queue. That is why the effect on weight is often worse than the calorie count suggests.

Glossary

Volume (mL)
How much drink went down; with the strength it gives pure alcohol.
ABV (%)
The share of the drink that is alcohol, by volume.
Weight (kg)
The second weight you are comparing against.
Calories from drink
Energy from the alcohol itself, at 7 kcal a gram.
Pure alcohol (g)
The weight of alcohol you drank — volume times 0.789.
Minutes to burn
How long it takes to burn that off with exercise.

Frequently asked questions

Q. How is Calories in a Drink calculated?

Calories from drink = Volume (mL) × ABV (%) ÷ 100 × 0.789 × 7 — Alcohol carries 7 kcal a gram — above carbohydrate and protein at 4, below fat at 9. A 350 mL bottle of 17% spirit holds about 47 g of alcohol and 330 kcal. Food alongside it is not included.

Q. Can you walk through an example?

With Volume (mL) 350mL, ABV (%) 17%, Weight (kg) 70kg, the answer is Calories from drink 329kcal.

Q. What do I need to enter?

Enter Volume (mL), ABV (%), Weight (kg). The result recalculates as you type, and an empty box counts as zero.

Q. How much does the answer move if I change a number?

Changing only Volume (mL) (mL) moves the answer to Volume (mL) (mL) 175 → Calories from drink (kcal) 164 and Volume (mL) (mL) 700 → Calories from drink (kcal) 657. The table below lays out five steps.

Q. How are the numbers rounded?

Money is shown to the nearest whole unit, percentages to one decimal place and everything else to two. What you see is rounded; the calculation itself carries the unrounded value forward.

Q. Anything to watch out for?

Alcohol calories are not stored; they get burned first, which pushes fat oxidation to the back of the queue. That is why the effect on weight is often worse than the calorie count suggests.

Related calculators

These calculators help you understand health figures; they do not replace diagnosis or prescription. See a clinician if you have symptoms.