Part of the Costco experience is wandering through the warehouse and stumbling upon those beloved free sample tables.
Maybe it’s a miniature pizza bagel, a dollop of spinach artichoke dip on a cracker, a sliver of cheesecake, or a new beverage to try.
But alcohol catches you off guard, especially when it’s a brand with a particular reputation.
Costco Giving Out Cutwater Samples
Content creator Trish (@realtortrishd) captured the unexpected sight of a Costco sample table offering tiny cups of Cutwater cocktails. Her viral video has more than 4 million views.
“Costco giving out Cutwater as samples is wild!!!” reads the text overlay on the video.
The footage shows a not-too-crowded Costco. A sampling table displays those signature teeny cups typically reserved for things like smoothies or Italian sodas.
But this time, they’re filled with Cutwater. Cutwater is a canned cocktail that has developed quite a reputation among drinkers.
“One minute you’re tasting a margarita in a thimble, the next you’re buying kayaks for the whole family!” the overlay continues. The text perfectly captures the slightly absurd scenario of day-drinking your way through the warehouse.
In the caption, Trish adds her disbelief. She wrote, “I did not have cutwater samples becoming a thing on my 2026 bingo card!!”
What Are Cutwater Canned Cocktails?
These aren’t your typical canned cocktails. They’re strong. They’re varied. And they’ve earned quite the reputation among drinkers for sneaking up on people who underestimate them.
As GQ puts it, “Cutwater is a sneak attack: sweet, boozy, and suddenly everywhere.”
The magazine describes one writer’s first encounter with what she thought was a spiked seltzer. She recalls, “Instead, I got a full-fledged margarita: two shots’ worth of tequila, 12.5% ABV, and 20 grams of sugar. By the time I finished, I was curled up under someone else’s umbrella, pricing out tickets for a trip to Japan I’d decided we should all take together.”
Originally brewed at Ballast Point in San Diego, Cutwater was acquired by Anheuser-Busch in 2019, vastly expanding its availability. In 2023, it sold over 3 million cases. That made it the number two spirits-based canned cocktail brand in the U.S. The ready-to-drink cocktail market is projected to grow from $903 million to $2.11 billion by 2030. And Cutwater sits at the center of that growth.
On social media, Cutwater has become notorious for its strength.
Comments like “Four Loko walked so Cutwater could run” are common. TikToker Loryn Powell went viral testing how many cans she needed to drink to blow a .08 BAC on a breathalyzer.
GQ notes that people have started referring to it as “grown-up Four Loko,” with one LA woman describing how “Cutwater has sponsored many a beach blackout.”
The Extensive Lineup
According to the Cutwater website, the brand offers more than 20 flavors spanning multiple spirit categories:
- Tequila-based: Multiple margarita varieties (Lime, Mango, Strawberry, Pineapple, Peach, Spicy Mango, Spicy Pineapple), Tequila Paloma, Ranch Water Lime, and Long Island Iced Tea
- Vodka-based: White Russian, Strawberry White Russian, Peppermint White Russian, Espresso Martini, Lemon Drop Martini, Vodka Mule, Spicy Bloody Mary, Vodka Transfusion, and Long Island Iced Tea
- Rum-based: Tiki Rum Mai Tai, Tiki Rum Hurricane, Piña Colada, and three Rum Mojito flavors (Lime & Mint, Mango Watermelon, Passion Fruit Guava)
- Whiskey-based: Whiskey Sour and Whiskey Mule
- Gin-based: Gin Collins
They also offer variety packs mixing different flavors for those who want to try multiple options.
Here’s what sets Cutwater apart from most canned cocktails: the alcohol content. According to Best Life, most alcoholic canned beverages contain low to moderate ABV levels, ranging from four to six percent. Cutwater’s top sellers? Most clock in at more than 10% ABV.
Top-Rated Flavors
Tasting Table features a ranking of eight popular Cutwater cocktails. Tiki Rum Mai Tai takes the top spot for its balanced blend of rum, coconut, pineapple, and citrus.
“Even though the can said it has two shots of rum in this martini, the drink tastes something closer to juice than an alcoholic drink,” Tasting Table notes. “Although this one certainly did not have a strong alcohol taste, the flavor of the drink itself was sippable and definitely reminded me of other mai tais I’ve had in restaurants and bars.”
The Espresso Martini is in second place. This flavor is praised as “one of the most delicious and smoothest drinks in the bunch” with notes of coffee liqueur that “do a lovely job of building over time.” The White Russian rounds out the top three for being “much more milky than I was expecting” with a smooth coffee liqueur flavor.
At the bottom of Tasting Table’s rankings? The Tequila Paloma, which they found “very mild” with grapefruit soda that was “far too subtle.”
According to GQ, the Lime Margarita is so popular that it’s been flying off shelves faster than stores can restock it. Some East Coast shops are reportedly experiencing Cutwater shortages.
Commenters React
“Pregame at costco this weekend,” a top comment read.
“Me doing circles with 29 distinct fake mustaches,” a person joked.
“A Costco pack of cutwaters is diabolical,” another said.
“If I owned a store I would give out free alcohol too in an attempt to lower inhibition and get more sales it’s a smart tactic,” a commenter added.
BroBible reached out to Trish for comment via TikTok direct message and comment and to Costco and Cutwater’s parent company via email.