Calories/Carbs in alcoholic beverages

Earlier his year, consumer advocacy groups and physicians were calling for nutrition labels on wine, beer and hard liquor, information that the coalition says would lead to more responsible drinking.

Don't look for such labels any time soon on your favorite beverage, but, in the interim, the Consumer Federation of America has come up with what might be the next best thing: per-serving information on calories, carbs and alcohol by volume for the 26 top-selling alcohol brands.

For instance, gin has more calories than spiced rum, while a merlot has about 20% more calories than a cabernet sauvignon. Light beers averaged 100 calories a serving, compared to an average of 140 calories per serving for regular beer. And if you're concerned about carbs, your best bet is hard liquor, which contains none, unlike wine, beer and flavored malt beverages.

Here is the Consumer Federation's Alcohol Facts chart.