Is gin high in histamine?
Gin is probably low in histamine, but no study has measured it: it is a distilled spirit flavoured with juniper and botanicals. Its alcohol still slows histamine breakdown, and the tonic is a separate question.
- Histamine
- Not measured
- Other amines
- Not measured
- Liberator
- Not on the lists we use
- DAO blocker
- Possible
What each source says
| Source | Verdict | What it says, in our words |
|---|---|---|
| Review of alcohol and migraine, 2025 1 | Very little has been published on amines in spirits; its table has no histamine data for them. | |
| 10 published low-histamine diets (2021 review) 2 | Spirits are not on the review's chart of excluded foods; wine and beer are excluded by all 10. | |
| Review of histamine intolerance, 2020 3 | Alcohol and acetaldehyde compete with histamine for a shared enzyme; alcohol can cause a temporary, reversible DAO deficiency. | |
| SIGHI food list 4 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
How freshness and processing change it
Gin keeps for years once bottled, and nothing in how it is stored is known to add histamine. The mixer is the part that changes: tonic, juices and cordials were not measured in our sources, and fruit garnishes have their own pages.
Not measured. Distilled, so little histamine is expected; the alcohol effect is unchanged. (estimate)
Not measured. Fruit and sugar are added after distilling; one study found histamine in more than half of the liqueurs it tested. (estimate)
Why we rate gin 1
Gin has not been measured for histamine in any study we could find, and a 2025 review of alcohol and migraine notes that very little has been published on amines in spirits generally. What follows is an estimate from how gin is made, with the gaps stated.
Gin is a distilled spirit. A neutral alcohol, itself distilled from a fermented grain or other base, is redistilled with juniper and other botanicals such as coriander seed, citrus peel or angelica, or flavoured with them. Fermentation is where wine and beer pick up their histamine, through microbial activity that leaves it in the drink. Distillation collects the alcohol as vapour and leaves most of the fermented liquid behind, and a 2016 study describes biogenic amines, the family histamine belongs to, as non-volatile. That is why we expect little histamine in dry gin. It is an expectation, not a measurement, and the botanicals themselves were not tested.
Sweetened and fruit gins are closer to liqueurs. Sloe gin is made by steeping fruit in gin, and many pink gins have fruit flavourings or sugar added after distilling. In a study described in a 2022 review, histamine was found in more than half of the liqueurs tested, and homemade fruit and herb liqueurs had more amines than industrial ones. We therefore rate fruit gins and gin liqueurs a step higher.
The alcohol is the part we can speak to with evidence. Alcohol and its breakdown product, acetaldehyde, compete with histamine for aldehyde dehydrogenase, and a 2020 review lists alcohol among the causes of a temporary, reversible DAO deficiency. A gin and tonic may bring very little histamine, yet still make the histamine from your dinner harder to clear.
We rate dry gin 1, "mostly low", as an estimate, and flag it as affecting histamine breakdown. Tonic water, bitter lemon and juices were not measured in our sources. Your doctor or dietitian is the right person to ask whether any alcohol belongs in your plan.
Questions about gin and histamine
Is gin low in histamine?
Probably, but it has never been properly measured. Gin is distilled, and the amines that include histamine are non-volatile, so little should carry over. The alcohol still slows histamine breakdown.
Is gin better than wine for histamine intolerance?
Gin likely brings less histamine than wine, which averaged 3.63 mg/L across 299 samples, but gin was not measured. Both contain alcohol, which slows histamine breakdown in the same way.
Evidence behind this page
- Very little has been published on biogenic amine levels in spirits; a 2025 review's summary table reports no histamine data for spirits. 1
- Spirits are made by distilling fermented products or by macerating raw materials in ethyl alcohol. 5
- Biogenic amines, the group of compounds that includes histamine, are non-volatile. 6
- In a study reported in a 2022 review, histamine was found in more than half of the liqueurs tested, and homemade fruit and herb liqueurs had higher amine levels than industrial ones. 5
- Across 299 wines sold in Spain, histamine averaged 3.63 mg/L. 2
- Alcohol and its metabolite acetaldehyde compete with histamine for aldehyde dehydrogenase, and DAO deficiency can be a temporary and reversible condition caused by substances such as alcohol. 3
Sources
- Zduńska A, Cegielska J, Zduński S, Domitrz I. Migraine and Alcohol—Is It Really That Harmful? Nutrients 17(22):3620, 2025. doi:10.3390/nu17223620 (Zduńska A et al. 2025)
- Sánchez-Pérez S, Comas-Basté O, Veciana-Nogués MT, Latorre-Moratalla ML, Vidal-Carou MC. Low-Histamine Diets: Is the Exclusion of Foods Justified by Their Histamine Content? Nutrients 13(5):1395, 2021. doi:10.3390/nu13051395 (Sánchez-Pérez S et al. 2021)
- Comas-Basté O, Sánchez-Pérez S, Veciana-Nogués MT, Latorre-Moratalla M, Vidal-Carou MDC. Histamine Intolerance: The Current State of the Art. Biomolecules 10(8):1181, 2020. doi:10.3390/biom10081181 (Comas-Basté O et al. 2020)
- Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI). Food compatibility list for histamine intolerance. histaminintoleranz.ch (accessed November 2026), 2026. Link (Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI) 2026)
- Visciano P, Schirone M. Update on Biogenic Amines in Fermented and Non-Fermented Beverages. Foods 11(3):353, 2022. doi:10.3390/foods11030353 (Visciano P et al. 2022)
- Spizzirri UG, Picci N, Restuccia D. Extraction Efficiency of Different Solvents and LC-UV Determination of Biogenic Amines in Tea Leaves and Infusions. Journal of Analytical Methods in Chemistry 2016:8715287, 2016. doi:10.1155/2016/8715287 (Spizzirri UG et al. 2016)