Overview
About Tequila
Tequila is distilled from cooked blue agave rather than from grain, so it is gluten free by ingredient and not merely by process, and it grades A for gluten, A for lactose and A across every FODMAP column.
That last one surprises people, because raw agave is one of the richest natural sources of fructans in the plant world: those chains are cooked and fermented away long before bottling, and none of them survive the still. The distinction that actually matters on a tequila label is 100% de agave versus mixto. Mexican rules allow a bottle marked simply tequila to be made from just 51 per cent agave sugars, with the remaining 49 per cent typically cane sugar or high fructose corn syrup, and mixto is where caramel colour, glycerin, sugar syrup and oak extract most often appear. Tequila also grades C for histamine and C for tyramine, a step above a neutral spirit, with reposado and anejo bottlings sitting in oak for months or years.
Sensitivities
How Tequila scores
Watch for
What trips people up
- A bottle that says only "tequila" is mixto: up to 49 per cent of its fermentable sugar can be cane or high fructose corn syrup rather than agave, and this is the category where colourings and mellowing agents are used most heavily. Look for "tequila 100% de agave" printed on the front. Even 100 per cent agave bottles are permitted a small fraction of additives such as caramel colour, glycerin and oak extract without declaring them
- Histamine C and tyramine C, both moderate and both higher than a filtered neutral spirit. Time in oak is part of it, so blanco generally sits below reposado, and reposado below anejo and extra anejo
- The FODMAP problem in a margarita is never the tequila. The spirit grades A, but agave syrup, triple sec, sour mix and fruit purees are all sweeteners with real fructose or polyol loads
- Being gluten free by ingredient is a genuine advantage over grain spirits for anyone who is uneasy about the distillation argument, but it does not extend to flavoured tequilas, ready-to-drink cans or seasoned rimming salts
- Poor for SIBO (grade D) and strongly pro-inflammatory (grade E), which is the alcohol talking rather than the agave
Diet fit
Where it fits
Swap ideas
More alternatives
FAQ
Common questions about Tequila
Is tequila gluten free?
Yes, and unusually it does not depend on the distillation argument at all. Tequila is made from agave, which is not a cereal and contains no gluten at any point. Mixto tequila tops up the sugar with cane or corn, neither of which is a gluten grain either, so both styles grade A. The only realistic risk comes from flavoured tequilas, cream liqueurs and pre-mixed drinks where something else has been added after the still.
What does 100% de agave mean and does it matter for sensitivities?
It means every fermentable sugar in the bottle came from blue agave. Anything without that phrase is mixto and can legally be up to 49 per cent other sugars. It matters less for gluten or FODMAPs, where both grade clean, and more for added sugar, caramel colouring, glycerin and oak extract, since mixto is where those are used most freely. If you are logging reactions and cannot tell what set one off, moving to 100 per cent agave removes several variables at once.
Is tequila low FODMAP even though agave is high in fructans?
Yes. Agave is packed with inulin-type fructans in the field, but the plant is cooked to convert them into simple sugars, yeast then ferments those sugars, and distillation carries over only alcohol and aroma compounds. The finished spirit grades A on fructans and on excess fructose. Agave syrup is the opposite story and is a high FODMAP sweetener, which is why a margarita can bother you when a shot does not.
Is tequila high in histamine?
It grades C, moderate. That is higher than vodka and roughly in line with rum, reflecting fermentation and, in aged expressions, months or years in barrel. Tyramine also grades C. For someone with histamine intolerance, a blanco is the gentler choice within the category and a neutral spirit is gentler still.
References
Read the background
Ratings reflect the Triggerbites ingredient database and may vary with portion size and preparation.