Tequila is very low in purines. As a distilled spirit, it contains only trace amounts, ranging from roughly 0.7 to 26.4 micromoles per liter across the spirits category. That’s a fraction of what you’d find in beer, which can reach over 1,100 micromoles per liter. But if you’re asking this question because of gout or high uric acid, purine content is only part of the story.
How Tequila Compares to Other Drinks
The distillation process is the key reason tequila is so low in purines. Purines are found in the yeast and plant material used during fermentation, but when that liquid is heated and the alcohol vapor is collected, most of those compounds get left behind. This is why all distilled spirits, including tequila, vodka, whiskey, and gin, land at the bottom of the purine scale.
Beer sits at the opposite end. It’s both fermented and unfiltered, retaining the brewer’s yeast that drives its purine levels up dramatically. Wine falls somewhere in between, with moderate purine levels of about 28 to 108 micromoles per liter. Sake is similar to wine. If you’re choosing a drink purely based on purine content, tequila and other spirits are the lowest-purine options available.
Why Low Purines Doesn’t Mean Low Risk
Here’s where it gets more complicated. Alcohol itself raises uric acid levels through a mechanism that has nothing to do with purines. When your liver breaks down ethanol, it generates a byproduct that increases the conversion of a compound called pyruvate into lactate. That lactate competes with uric acid for excretion through your kidneys. The result: uric acid builds up in your blood even if the drink you consumed was essentially purine-free.
This means any alcoholic drink, tequila included, can push your uric acid higher. The effect scales with how much you drink, not just what you drink. Dehydration from alcohol compounds the problem further, concentrating uric acid in the blood and making it more likely to crystallize in joints.
Gout Risk by Alcohol Type
Large population studies have quantified how much each type of alcohol increases gout risk. Beer carries the highest relative risk at 2.51, meaning regular beer drinkers are about two and a half times more likely to develop gout than non-drinkers. Spirits come in at a relative risk of 1.60, a meaningful increase but substantially lower than beer. Wine shows almost no additional risk at 1.05.
The gap between beer and spirits is largely explained by purines. Beer delivers a double hit: the ethanol raises uric acid through the liver pathway while the purines in the drink add even more raw material for uric acid production. Tequila and other spirits only trigger the ethanol pathway, which is why their risk is lower but not zero.
The American College of Rheumatology recommends limiting alcohol intake for people with gout, with a specific call to limit beer in particular. Spirits aren’t given a free pass, but they’re not singled out the way beer is.
Watch What You Mix With It
Tequila on its own may be low in purines, but what you mix it with matters. Margarita mixes and sodas sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup are independently linked to higher uric acid levels. Fructose triggers a rapid breakdown of energy molecules in the liver that generates uric acid as a byproduct. A sugary margarita can effectively cancel out the advantage tequila has over beer.
If you’re trying to keep uric acid in check, simpler serves are better. Tequila neat, on the rocks, or mixed with soda water and fresh lime avoids the fructose problem entirely. Even fresh fruit juices like orange or apple juice contain enough natural fructose to be worth considering if you’re gout-prone.
Practical Takeaways for Gout-Prone Drinkers
Tequila is one of the lowest-purine alcoholic drinks you can choose. Switching from beer to tequila meaningfully reduces the purine load per drink. But alcohol in any form still raises uric acid through your liver and kidneys, so volume matters more than type once you’ve moved away from beer. Keeping intake moderate, staying hydrated, and avoiding sugary mixers are the three things that make the biggest practical difference.