Cutwater Spirits Acquired By Anheuser-Busch

It’s a landmark day for Cutwater Spirits, which has announced a new partnership with beer giant Anheuser-Busch. The companies have been in talks for several months and the deal will officially close later this spring; terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The distillery got its start in 2007 under the Ballast Point umbrella but split off after the brewery’s billion dollar sale to Constellation Brands. Rebranded in 2016 as Cutwater Spirits, it unveiled a 50,000-square-foot production facility, bar, and restaurant in the Miramar area in May 2017.

Co-founder and head of distilling Yuseff Cherney told Eater that he’s looking forward to growing the brand with Anheuser-Busch, taking particular pride in the fact that this is the first acquisition in the spirits space for the world’s largest beer company. Cherney says it will be business as usual for himself and co-founder Earl Kight, Cutwater’s head of sales; the duo will continue to run the company for the foreseeable future.

Cutwater Spirits will be part of the Beyond Beer portfolio at Anheuser-Busch, which will be expanding distribution channels for the distillery’s lineup of bottles and canned cocktails. Its next releases include a canned whiskey mule and vodka-based elderflower spritz as well as a tropical, tiki-inspired liqueur.

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