Cutwater Spirits just hit a thrilling and impressive metric.

The San Diego-based distillery and RTD cocktail producer just won its thousandth award across its expansive portfolio of RTDs, mixers, and bottled spirits, officially making it the “most awarded canned cocktail in the US,” according to the company’s press release honoring the occasion.

Cutwater’s diverse spirit offerings include tequila, rum, vodka, gin, and whiskey in addition to its spirits-based canned cocktails and non-alcoholic mixers. Its most recent release is a Tequila Anejo, or aged tequila.

A-B Division with Many Cocktail Varieties

The distillery, a division of Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD), currently offers 19 varieties of ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails, including the newest additions, the Long Island Iced Tea and White Russian.

This winter season, Cutwater also released a limited edition seasonal cocktail, containing its popular Bali Hai Tiki Rum, the Tiki Holiday Spirit. The drink contains rum with cream, allspice, cinnamon, pineapple, and coconut.

Formerly the head brewer at Ballast Point craft beer brewing company, co-founder and master distiller Yuseff Cherney started experimenting with distillation as a hobby in the brewery’s breakroom. Cutwater quickly grew from a passion project to an award winning spirits brand in its own right.

Awards Aplenty

The distillery quickly started racking up accolades, leading to the formal founding of Cutwater in 2017. Cherney established the company with co-founder Earl Kight in order to focus solely on spirits. Today Cutwater is a separate entity from Ballast Point, the brewery that helped start it all.

“We are honored and proud that Cutwater is consistently acknowledged by the industry as among the best in the world,” said Cherney. “The accomplishment of reaching this incredible milestone is a true testament to the entire team’s passion, hard work, and commitment to excellence.”

The distillery won nearly 400 awards in 2020 alone, firmly cementing its place as a major player in the global spirits market. Cutwater Spirits won 29 awards at this year’s London Spirits Competition, including Tequila of the Year (Cutwater Tequila Reposado), Best in Show by Country (Bali Hai Tiki Gold Rum), and gold medals for Cutwater Tequila Reposado and Bali Hai Tiki Gold Rum.

At San Francisco’s World Spirits Competition Cutwater won a remarkable 31 awards, spanning nearly all of the brand’s categories. The most notable include Best of Class & Double Gold for Cutwater Tequila Reposado, and Double Gold for Cutwater Vodka.

It also won US distillery of the year at the annual Berlin International Spirits Competition, an event which drew over 300 spirits from 19 different countries.

Cutwater’s Other Products

Cherney started canning cocktails because he wanted something he could take on his various adventures, such as fishing and hiking. The creative company also sells Cutwater Cocktail Pops, ready to enjoy frozen popsicles made with real spirits. The pops are based on popular flavors of Cutwater’s RTDs, including a Vodka Mule, Gin Melon, Rum & Cola, and several different varieties of margaritas.

Congratulations to Cutwater Distilling on its monumental year and impressive 1,000 awards. With its line of premium spirits, RTDs, and even Cocktail Pops, we are excited to see what the future holds for this innovative distillery – and can’t wait to toast Cherney and Kight with one of their quality RTDs.

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