Diageo, maker of Captain Morgan Original Spiced rum and Johnnie Walker, is urging bartenders to push drinks like Johnnie Walker Red Label and Ginger. The mixture of scotch and diet ginger ale contains 96 calories, which the company says is the equivalent of three rice cakes.

Kahlua maker Allied Domecq is also counting on bartenders to push "skinny" White Russians, which are made from skim milk rather than regular milk. The low-fat version has half the calories and two-thirds of the carbohydrates of a normal White Russian.

Recently, Phillips Distilling unveiled a new marketing campaign for its UV vodka that focuses on the drink's low carb load. The company is encouraging distributors to cross-market the vodka with diet-friendly products like Crystal Light sugar-free lemonade.

Bacardi, on the other hand, is going retro. The company is bringing back its print ads from 1984 which illustrate that five ounces of white wine has more calories, 121, than a five-ounce Bacardi and diet Coke, which has 66.

Despite efforts by the liquor industry to make their products more appealing to the diet-conscious, Stacey Snelling, a professor and registered dietitian for American University in Washington, D.C., said the best rule of thumb for consumers is moderation.

"There are still alcohol calories in low-carb beer, and alcohol calories are stored as fat," she said.

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