Cutwater Fugu Vodka

Fugu is named for the pufferfish — the Japanese delicacy so poisonous it can only be prepared by licensed chefs after years of training — and the vodka takes the name as a standard: as Cutwater puts it, anything less than perfection is a mortal sin. It's made about fifteen minutes up the road from Pacific Beach in Miramar, San Diego, where Cutwater Spirits began around 2007 as the distilling arm of Ballast Point Brewing before the founders spun it off in 2016 and built one of the largest craft distilleries in the country. Fugu is distilled from corn-based grain and filtered fifteen times — an obsessive number even by vodka's standards — and bottled at 40% ABV. Naturally gluten-free. Expect a clean, neutral nose with the faintest corn sweetness, opening into a smooth, soft palate with almost no burn and a gentle roundness, finishing crisp and clean — a vodka built to disappear into a drink and let the other ingredients speak. Honest note: this is a purity-first vodka; drinkers who want texture or character should look at Cutwater's flavored Fugus, which are where the brand gets interesting. For a vodka soda, a Mule, a Bloody Mary with Cutwater's own mix, or the base of the canned cocktails that made the brand famous, it's San Diego's hometown vodka — the one in every Cutwater can, and the one behind the bar at the Miramar tasting room. Pacific Beach's local, fifteen times over.

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