Overview: Cutwater Spirits approaches a major milestone as it nears $1 billion in annual sales while maintaining its status as the fastest-growing brand within the U.S. spirits industry. The ready-to-drink canned cocktails have secured a reputation for potency, distinguishing them from competitors shifting toward non-alcoholic options.
The Full Story
Revenue growth for the ready-to-drink canned cocktails has hit triple digits, positioning Cutwater as one of the biggest growth engines for parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev. Michel Doukeris, CEO of AB InBev, stated that the brand was inexistent six or seven years ago and is moving towards becoming a $1 billion brand. During the second quarter of this year, the brand became the second-largest contributor to overall revenue growth for AB InBev, the largest brewer in the world.
To take advantage of that swelling demand, the $150 billion beverage giant has continued to roll out new flavors, and consumers have been drinking them up, despite alcohol consumption and sales at record lows in the United States. In an era dominated by a growing number of non-alcoholic beers and mocktail options, Cutwater has won over consumers by veering in the opposite direction and selling drinks that pack a punch.
Production & Profile
Each 12-ounce can contains between 7 and 13 percent alcohol, with the vast majority of flavors sitting north of 10 percent. The cans are stamped with a guarantee made with 2+ shots of real spirits. One of the most popular flavors, the Long Island Ice Tea, contains more than three times as much alcohol found in a Bud Light or a Surfside.
Brand & Industry History
Yuseff Cherney started using an old beer fermenter to distill vodka, gin, rum, and whiskey at Ballast Point Brewing in San Diego in 2007. That project became Ballast Point Spirits, which spun off from Ballast Point when the beer brand was sold to Constellation for $1 billion in 2015. The next year, those canned cocktails got a rebrand, and Cutwater Spirits launched. By 2019, AB InBev acquired the ready-to-drink brand for an undisclosed sum.
What This Means
Amid record low alcohol sales, consumers are drinking up the ready-to-drink brand whose cans have developed a reputation for packing a punch. The brand’s overt booziness has become something of a running joke across social media, with GQ dubbing Cutwater “the chaotic king of canned cocktails.” Earlier this summer, the Atlantic warned the cans “will smash you to the ground.”
Consumer Takeaway
The brand offers two dozen different vodka, tequila, whiskey, gin, and rum concoctions for those seeking high-ABV options.
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