Sea Breeze

The Sea Breeze is traditionally made from just three ingredients: vodka, cranberry juice, and grapefruit juice ^[3][4][6]. While it contains no high-purine foods like shellfish or organ meats, the alcohol and sugar content make it a poor choice for gout management.

Why alcohol hurts

Vodka is a distilled spirit that increases uric acid production while reducing how efficiently your kidneys excrete uric acid. Even moderate drinking can trigger an acute gout flare, which is why this cocktail falls firmly in the do-not-eat category.

The hidden sugar load

Cranberry juice cocktail and grapefruit juice are both naturally rich in fructose, and many bars use sweetened versions. One typical serving racks up around 574 calories and 120 g of carbs—almost entirely from sugar . Fructose directly increases uric acid production in the liver, so a single Sea Breeze delivers a double hit: alcohol plus a massive fructose spike. Cranberry juice itself has no alcohol but contributes about 30 calories per serving ^[1].

Practical guidance

If you do decide to indulge very occasionally, keep it to a single drink made with unsweetened cranberry juice, skip extra syrup, and drink plenty of water before and after to counter dehydration. However, given the combination of vodka and high-sugar juices, most people with gout will find that skipping the Sea Breeze altogether is the safest choice for preventing flares.