This low carb vanilla old fashioned cocktail is a twist on the classic cocktail that the Mad Men generation enjoyed. Not only does it have a delicate vanilla flavor it’s one of my favorite low carb cocktails. Yes, this keto old fashioned has 0 net carbs !

For this recipe you’ll need: bourbon, vanilla bean, sugar free vanilla syrup ( I used Torani), orange water enhancer, club soda (optional), and ice cubes.

If you are in a hurry click here to go straight to the recipe.

This low carb vanilla old fashioned is a delicious twist on a classic cocktail.

Table of Contents

What makes this drink low carb?

A traditional bourbon old fashioned is usually made with simple syrup. Yep, water and sugar. Many recipes call for 1/4 ounce or more of simple syrup. There is 3.5 grams of sugar in 1/4 ounce of that sugar water concoction. The flavors are so great that I usually can’t have just one of these. If I had two, that would be 7 grams of sugar. You see where this is going. To maintain a ketogenic diet lifestyle I made this recipe with a sugar substitute. This keto old fashioned recipe is low carb because I use sugar free vanilla syrup. All that amazing vanilla flavor without the sugar (aka carbs !).

What is a bourbon old fashioned?

I like a good keto cocktail after a long day of work. It’s relaxing, civilized, and it makes me feel a little more like an adult. Truth be told I even like a lousy keto cocktail after a long day of work if it was one of those days. You know what I am talking about, right?

Being a food writer has its weird moments. For example, on the day I was cocktail testing was perfect for photographs at 9 am. At 9:15 am I met the UPS guy at the door with a cocktail in my hand and another behind me on the table. He looked at me with one eyebrow raised and muttered, “tough morning?”.I burst into laughter as I tried to explain I was doing “research” and “working”. He laughed and always smiles at me wryly when he delivers packages now.

Since most classic cocktails don’t have a lot of heavy ingredients you need to get a really good quality liquor. This is definitely not the spot to use up the cheap, rotgut bourbon your boss gave you for Christmas five years ago. A good bourbon will be rich and smooth with notes of caramel and vanilla with a nice balance between dry and sweet. 1-1/2 ounces of bourbon has 109 calories and no carbs but be careful. Alcohol can stall your weight loss so while once in awhile is fine you definitely don’t want to indulge every night when on a keto diet.

Vanilla old fashioned cocktail is low carb! So yummy!

What does a low carb old fashioned cocktail taste like?

I like a little club soda in my keto old fashioned but you can certainly leave it out if you prefer your keto cocktail to be undiluted. The club soda smooths the alcohol out and gives the drink a little fizz which I enjoy. This is not a sweet drink but it is a nice balance of flavors. Without the simple syrup the regular recipe calls for, it won’t spike your blood sugar as much. The regular version also calls for bitters (angostura bitters I think they are called) which I personally don’t like, so I my recipe doesn’t have them. I felt it took away from the flavors of the bourbon. Serve it in an on-the-rocks-glass with a couple of ice cubes and a vanilla bean.

How many carbs in a bourbon old fashioned?

The regular bourbon old fashioned has about 10 carbs. Not a ton, but when you add the alcohol, it can affect your keto diet efforts. By changing the recipe by excluding the simple syrup sweetener, it makes this keto recipe a low carb cocktail champ.