The Tequila Brand That's Not Worth The Burn

Call us snobs, but here at Tasting Table, we believe that tequila should do more than just help discerning imbibers get a little buzz on. It should also (a radical take) taste good going down. Cutwater's 40% ABV blanco tequila is made in Mexico from a 100% blue agave base – which satisfies the logistical requirements for a spirit labelled as tequila, but that's about it. In our ranking of 29 popular tequila brands, Cutwater's blanco tequila fell to last place.

The official Cutwater website describes its blanco tequila as having a "slight grassy aroma [that] gives way to heavy sweet notes of cooked agave and ends with a finish that stays true to tequila's traditional roots." The Jalisco-harvested agave is brick-oven baked, open-air fermented in stainless steel tanks, and distilled twice in copper stills. Indeed, in our taste test, the spirit arrived heavy on the baked agave flavor, with pronounced secondary tones of vanilla and black pepper. Alas, it took intense concentration to identify what, specifically, those flavors were. The notes were buried beneath a harsh, abrasive, thin delivery. As our reviewer notes, "[T]here's a lot of burn right away, which is fairly aggressive. After a few swirls and sips, I was able to decipher some herbaceous, vegetal notes, but the alcohol burn really took over every possible flavor that may have been trying to get out."

Every tequila brand offers a different profile. As one relatable Reddit thread puts it, "Wondering if I got a bad bottle, or just hate tequila." Alas, when it comes to Cutwater blanco, other sippers seem to share our criticism. Multiple customer reviews on Tequila Matchmaker mention the spirit's inaccessible harshness, writing, "The nose is very good with cooked agave, ripe sweet banana, vegetal and fresh cooked peas. The flavor is bitter and taste of dried cooked peas, and very medicinal, unpleasant. Finish is short." Another commenter says, "There's a bit of a vanilla cream thing on the nose along with an herbal funk and some agave. The palate is thin and bitter. [...] Probably passable as a mixer, but I'm not a fan."

This isn't to say that Cutwater always misses the mark. We're digging the brand's Bali Hai Tiki Rum Mai Tai canned cocktail, which tastes as good as a mixed drink at the bar. (Notably, this one uses a rum base, happily side-stepping Cutwater's lackluster tequila altogether.) We can't dock points for the price tag, either. A 750 ml bottle of Cutwater blanco tequila runs for $29.99 via TotalWine, falling into the same standard ballpark as other middle-high-end tequilas like Espolòn and Milagro. Still, our advice? Stick to Espolòn or Milagro. Or, for a super-smooth blanco at a comparable price point to skippable Cutwater, we ranked Tres Agaves tequila ($31.99 via TotalWine) third-best of 29.