I love Cutwater canned cocktails—and I am an admitted cocktail snob. I am very particular about my Martinis (one ounce dry vermouth, two ounces gin, three Martini olives). I regularly make riffs on pretentious cocktails like Hanky Pankys and Negronis. I have an entire tiny shelf devoted to bitters. So, trust me, an annoying cocktail enthusiast, when I say that Cutwater cocktails are good. But are all the Cutwater flavors good? Spoiler alert: Nope.
Cutwater has come a long way from a small distillery in San Diego, CA, to a pioneer of canned cocktails, which are now available across the country. Per the Cutwater website, they make 30 different canned cocktails. Well, over the course of two taste tests, we tasted 27. Sadly, we had to 86 a couple of the best Cutwater flavors because Cutwater discontinued them. (RIP Gin & Tonic and non-spicy Bloody Mary, we miss you both!) We’ll continue to update this ranking as we secure more Cutwater flavors and as Cutwater continues to release new canned cocktails.
What were we looking for as we ranked these Cutwater drinks? We wanted drinks that taste like the cocktails advertised on the cans. And, since Cutwater is a distillery, we prized the Cutwater cocktails that really showed off those spirits. And, finally, we just wanted to find the best tasting Cutwater drinks. We were selfishly looking for the best Cutwater flavors to stock up on for our own purposes. Here are 25 Cutwater flavors, ranked.
- Cutwater Watermelon Vodka Soda
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While this canned Vodka Soda smells like fresh watermelon, it tastes a bit like cleaning fluid. The hard seltzer and canned Vodka Soda fields are crowded enough already. I just think Cutwater is better off using their skills elsewhere.
Credit: Merc / Total Wine
- Cutwater Bali Hai Pina Colada
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I really wanted to like this flavor. I love Pina Coladas. I am always craving Pina Coladas. So I was excited about the prospect of having canned Pina Coladas ready-to-drink in my fridge. But, alas, out of all the Cutwater flavors we tried, this was probably the most disappointing. It simply does not taste like a Pina Colada. It’s very odd. I hope Cutwater tinkers with this recipe a bit; I’ll give it another chance. I love Pina Coladas!
Related: Best Rum Drinks in a Can
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Cutwater Strawberry Margarita
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This was my least favorite of the Cutwater Margarita flavors. That said, you might like it if you don’t want your canned cocktails to taste like alcohol. Personally, I like knowing there’s booze in there. But this one tastes like a melted strawberry popsicle. There’s no lime flavor and there’s no tequila flavor.
Credit: Merc / Target
- Cutwater Peach Margarita
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There’s slightly more tequila flavor in this canned Margarita, but really, it tastes more like an aguas frescas than a cocktail. It needs acidity and it needs the taste of booze!
Related: Best Canned Margaritas
Credit: Merc / Drizly
- Cutwater Vodka Iced Tea
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This is far too sweet for my tastes. But if you order your boba tea extra sweet, it might just be the best Cutwater cocktail for you. You can taste the tea (a rarity in hard tea drinks, as we’ve found). But I couldn’t possibly make it through an entire can. Maybe if you squeezed a full lemon into the can, it might be more balanced.
- Cutwater Lime Vodka Soda
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So, I know I just said that I like my cocktails to taste like booze, well, this one certainly checks that box. It has a lot of vodka flavor (please don’t tell me vodka doesn’t taste like anything; we all know you aren’t going to confuse a swig of Stoli with a swig of Evian). But the lime flavor is negligible. So it really just tastes like a nearly plain Vodka Soda. If that’s your drink of choice, enjoy. But it ain’t mine.
Credit: Merc / Drizly
- Cutwater Watermelon Ranch Water
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Ranch Water is basically blanco tequila, lime juice, and sparkling water (usually Topo Chico). This canned Ranch Water adds watermelon to the mix. I’ll give it props: It actually tastes like fresh watermelon. But it’s lacking the lime flavor that Ranch Water calls for.
Related: Best Canned Ranch Water
Credit: Merc / BevMo!
- Cutwater Lime Margarita
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The classic lime within the lineup of Cutwater Margarita flavors is indeed very limey. But, once again, there’s just not enough tequila flavor. Margaritas should taste like tequila!
Credit: Merc / Target
- Cutwater Whiskey Lemonade
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One thing I really appreciate about a lot of Cutwater drinks is that they are far less sweet than other canned cocktails. This one in particular is much, much drier than you might expect. It’s tart and tangy and very whiskey forward. It tastes more like a Whiskey Lemon rather than a Whiskey Lemonade. However, if you’re looking for a refreshing, restrained, tart canned whiskey drink, give this Cutwater cocktail a try. It’s not my favorite, for sure, but I wouldn’t turn it down at a hot BBQ.
Related: Best Whiskey Drinks in a Can
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Cutwater Lemon Drop Martini
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Once again, the name of this Cutwater cocktail is misleading. It’s not strong enough to be a Martini of any sort. Even though it’s made with Cutwater vodka, triple sec, and lemon juice, it ends up tasting like a standard Vodka Lemonade—one made with Crystal Light, perhaps. It’s totally fine. It’s totally drinkable. And it’s a good pick if you’re looking for a non-carbonated hard lemonade. But it ain’t a Lemon Drop.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Cutwater Vodka Transfusion
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A Transfusion is traditionally made with vodka, ginger ale, concord grape juice, and lime juice. But Cutwater’s take on the vodka cocktail is made with ginger beer instead, and you can tell. It has a much more pungent ginger aroma and flavor than a cocktail made with ginger ale. And I really love the spice. But the grape flavor clashes a bit with that heavy ginger. It’s an odd drink, but if you’re a Transfusion fan, I think you should try it. If not, there are better Cutwater drinks out there.
Related: Best Vodka Cocktails in a Can
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Cutwater Vodka Mule
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Cutwater makes one of the best ginger beers for making cocktails, so I had high hopes for this canned Vodka Mule. It is very, very gingery—that’s good. If you like your Mules spicy, this is one of the best Cutwater flavors for you. But there is just a hint of a medicinal flavor to it that puts me off.
Related: Best Canned Moscow Mules
Credit: Merc / Target
- Cutwater Tiki Rum Punch
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This falls right in the middle of all the Cutwater cocktails. It’s totally fine. If you gave me a can, I’d crack it, I’d drink it, and I would never think once about what I was drinking. It’s a totally decent tropical punch with a hint of coconut flavor that I appreciate. But I can’t tell you to run out and buy it ASAP. There are better Cutwater drinks out there.
Credit: Liv Averett / Uber Eats
- Cutwater Grapefruit Vodka Soda
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This canned Vodka Soda smells like a sour grapefruit candy—like the wedges from Haribo Fruit Salad. The flavor is much less pronounced, as it should be since this is a seltzer. But there are just better grapefruit flavored hard seltzers out there—like the second place pick from our best hard seltzer list.
Credit: Merc / Drizly
- Cutwater Long Island Iced Tea
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Major points for Cutwater canning a Long Island Iced Tea. What a fun move. I’m a big LIIT proponent. I think, when made right, it can be a stupendous drink. If you’re looking for the ideal LIIT, just head back in time to 2006 and drop by 5 Olde Nugget Alley in Hanover, NH. Get Tom, the co-owner, to make you a LIIT—it’s free if it’s your birthday. That’s a real Long Island Iced Tea. Cutwater’s version tastes like Nestea, which is close to how a good LIIT should taste, but it could use a bit more lemon. If you jam a lemon wedge into the can, this could be one of the best Cutwater flavors.
Credit: Merc / Drizly
- Cutwater Pineapple Margarita
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This is the best of the bunch when it comes to Cutwater Margarita flavors. In fact, it even made it into our best canned cocktails round up. It has a nice pineapple smell and a roasted pineapple flavor. It is a good cocktail, but it still lacks the citrus and tequila flavors of an actual Margarita.
Credit: Merc / Drizly
- Cutwater Bloody Mary Spicy
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Cutwater makes a good Bloody Mary mix, so it makes sense that they would also make a good canned Bloody Mary. It’s seriously spicy, though, so it has a more limited audience. It’s just not gulpable—but it’s still very good. I will use this time to put out a plea to Cutwater to bring back their mild canned Bloody Mary. It was the best. Please bring it back, Cutwater!
Credit: Merc / Drizly
- Cutwater Rum Mint Mojito
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I am seriously impressed by this Cutwater flavor. The mint is much better than I thought it would be and it doesn’t taste like toothpaste. Quite a feat. It tastes like a mint-heavy Mojito. It’s good but, like many Cutwater cocktails, it could use a squeeze of lime.
Credit: Merc / Drizly
- Cutwater Tiki Rum Hurricane
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While this Cutwater cocktail doesn’t necessarily taste like a true Hurricane (which is ultra strong and clearly passion fruit flavored), it does taste good. Right now, it’s probably the Cutwater flavor I drink the most, actually. Made with Cutwater white rum, Cutwater barrel aged rum, passion fruit juice, and other natural flavors, it’s missing that passion fruit tang, but it does taste like a balanced, tropical rum drink. It’s like not-too-sweet fruit punch, mixed with rum. I much prefer it to the Tiki Rum Punch when it comes to tropical Cutwater flavors.
- Cutwater Lime Ranch Water
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This is my new day drink. It’s my hanging-out-in-Austin-with-cool-influencers drink. That never happens but that’s what it feels like should be happening when you drink this canned classic Ranch Water. It tastes like a good, homemade Ranch Water with a healthy slug of tequila, a squeeze of lime, and a refreshing pour of seltzer. Out of the soda water-based Cutwater flavors, this is by far the best one.
Credit: Merc / Drizly
- Cutwater Espresso Martini
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Cutwater’s canned Espresso Martini is sweet and very, very chocolatey. It’s more chocolatey than it is coffee flavored. But there’s no denying it’s an Espresso Martini. It’s not super rich or creamy—Espresso Martinis shouldn’t be, they’re not White Russians—but it’s still decadent enough that you’re probably only going to have one. And, at 13% ABV, that’s enough. Grab a can for dessert or enjoy during an at-home brunch.
Related: Best Canned Espresso Martinis
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Cutwater Tiki Rum Mai Tai
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This tastes like the rum punch you get on a boat when you’re going out for a sunset “cruise” in Key West. It’s a can of vacation. It’s not for everyday drinking, but you definitely should drink it sometimes—preferably on a boat or when you wish you were on a boat.
Credit: Merc / Drizly
- Cutwater White Russian
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You may not think you need a canned White Russian but you do. This is one of the best, most unexpected Cutwater flavors. It’s super creamy and not too crazy sweet—not like melted ice cream. This is as good a White Russian as I’ve ever had, perfectly balanced between creamy, sweet, and boozy.
Credit: Merc / Drizly
- Cutwater Whiskey Mule
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We all much preferred the Whiskey Mule to the Vodka Mule. You get the same spicy ginger beer along with a heavy dose of whiskey flavor—think: Johnny Walker Black Label. If you like Whiskey Ginger, you will absolutely love this. ”It’s really sophisticated tasting,” my colleague Gwynedd Stuart said. Pinkies up, everyone.
Credit: Merc / Drizly
- Cutwater Tequila Paloma
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“It’s practically perfect in every way,” said Gwynedd. It is, for sure, the most guzzleable of the Cutwater canned cocktails. It’s like a really good grapefruit soda with a touch of tequila—which is what a Paloma is, so, good job, Cutwater, for understanding the assignment. If you poured this into a highball glass with ice and garnished it with a strip of grapefruit zest, you could easily convince someone you knew what you were doing behind a bar. It’s the best Cutwater cocktail, so stock up.
Credit: Merc / Drizly
Watermelon Vodka Soda
Bali Hai Pina Colada
Strawberry Margarita
Peach Margarita
Vodka Iced Tea
Lime Vodka Soda
Watermelon Ranch Water
Lime Margarita
Whiskey Lemonade
Lemon Drop Martini
Vodka Transfusion
Vodka Mule
Tiki Rum Punch
Grapefruit Vodka Soda
Long Island Iced Tea
Pineapple Margarita
Bloody Mary Spicy
Rum Mint Mojito
Tiki Rum Hurricane
Lime Ranch Water
Espresso Martini
Tiki Rum Mai Tai
White Russian
Whiskey Mule
Tequila Paloma
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