Cutwater Spirits Mezcal

Travel Distilled reviews Cutwater Spirits Mezcal, made in Mexico and imported by the San Diego distiller which already has an award-winning tequila to its name.

I’ve already reviewed and enjoyed a selection of three Cutwater canned cocktails so was delighted to have chance to taste their new mezcal. This San Diego-based distillery is doing some innovative things, and has already released a blanco, a reposado, and an añejo tequila. The blanco has done particularly well and has won several Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals in 2019 and 2020.

Cutwater Spirits Mezcal label detail — Detail from the label

Cutwater Spirits Range

In addition, Cutwater has released two whiskies, two rums, a vodka, a gin, and a herb liqueur, as well as several canned cocktails other than the three I’ve tasted. They’ve also made some ready-made mixers, including a Mild Bloody Mary, a Spicy Bloody Mary, and a Classic Margarita mix.

Making Cutwater Spirits Mezcal

Cutwater’s Master Distiller Yuseff Cherney worked closely in collaboration with Durango distillery owner Gaston Martinez and his Master Mezcalero. It’s made in the LTG Distillery, a distillery which also makes the IZO range of tequilas and mezcals, and a sotol.

To support the distillery and give back to the land, Cutwater is planting five cenizo hijuelos (baby cenizo agave) for every wild cenizo agave that’s harvested for production. They also established a nursery at the distillery to cultivate new agave plants from seed to ensure biological diversity for future cenizo in the wild.

The Cenizo Agave isn’t one that is widely used in the making of mezcal, but it does grow well in Durango and a few other states, thriving at altitudes over 8,500ft (2,590m).

Tasting Cutwater Spirits Mezcal

This is a typical joven or unaged mezcal, bottled at 45% ABV (90 proof), so a little stronger than the average spirit. The bottle has a smoky tinge to it, in keeping with the smokiness of most mezcals, and is decorated with a strange and rather scary creature which seems to be a cross between a scorpion and an owl, if you can imagine such a thing.

Not all mezcals are heavily smoky, but this one certainly is. It’s very evident when you first sniff it, and you can tell it’s potent, but there’s also some citrus, a bit of saltiness, and a dash of sourness, plus some earthy agave, naturally. If you like smoky whiskies, you’re definitely going to like this Cutwater Spirits Mezcal.

That’s confirmed by the palate, where it’s the smoke and alcohol that gets to you first. That’s followed by notes of tart cherry, lemon, black pepper, and honey sweetness. It’s certainly an excellent and typical mezcal, which most people will find better suited to cocktails rather than for sipping. Use this in a Margarita instead of tequila and you’ve got a heck of a good Smoky Margarita. Use it instead of whiskey for a Smoky Old-Fashioned.