What Now?

BY: JOSHUA GANDEE
Creative Director, Watershed’s Bar

We’ve been pretty busy working to bring new and interesting bourbons to the market recently. We spend so much time with the spirit from grain choice, distillation, and the unrelenting patience it takes while our bourbon rests in the barrel. We impart our efforts where we can, but ultimately, time needs to do its thing. To lay a bourbon to rest means spending more time with the unaged distillate before it makes its way to the barrel. By the time a finished bottle of spirit makes its way to you, there’s usually at least four years of investment into that product.

We’re thrilled that so many of you interact with our spirits, come for tours, or head to your local stores to pick up our latest product. Seeing our bottles tagged on social media in your homes, or spaces, where you hang out, means the world to us. At the end of the day, these bottles are meant to be enjoyed and pair best with friends or family. The way they are enjoyed varies from person to person, but we do what we can to offer up some inspiration to inform your next drink. Whether it is our 4yr bourbon finished in apple brandy barrels, or our bottled in bond bourbon, the finished product is delicious and well worth the wait. We recommend enjoying our spirits neat, over ice, or with a touch of water to learn their tastes and aromatics, but we also wanted to offer up some cocktail ideas for those of you looking to get a little more out of your latest pick up.

WATERSHED DISTILLERY BOURBON

The production of our apple brandy is exciting because all Ohio apples provide a local tie-in as well as delicious flavors. In doing so, we are also left with barrels imparted with flavor from the resting apple spirit. Being able to use spent barrels as finishing moves has added a level of complexity unavailable to us until we resurrected such a historic spirit. The flavors it adds to a bourbon create a more rounded-out flavor profile reminiscent of the place it came from. The finished product is a profound bourbon with a clean and crisp red and yellow apple. It keeps the palate bright, and eager for another sip. In cocktails, this subtle complexity shines when activated by bitters or citrus as you see in the following recipes.

FROM THE TREE

2oz Watershed Distillery Bourbon

.5oz Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

5oz Sparkling Apple Soda

Add all ingredients into a collins glass over ice and gently stir to combine. Garnish with a dehydrated apple slice if available.

The added sparkling apple soda to this simple highball adds a nice effervescence to each sip but also fortifies the apple notes found in the brandy barrels. The bright citrusy backbone from the freshly squeezed lemon juice keeps this drink light enough for a patio, but the bolstered bourbon keeps its steady footing and provides a notable caramel and vanilla flavor.

FRESH BOUQUET

2oz Watershed Distillery Bourbon

1oz Dry Vermouth

2 dash Orange Bitters

2 dash Lavender Bitters

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass and stir with ice until well chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with an edible flower or orange peel.

This is the lighter side of the Manhattan territory. Think of a trip to New York City where you never have to use the subway. Using dry vermouth in place of sweet allows some of the lighter citrus peel notes to be exposed which pairs well with the vanilla and toasted nuttiness of the bourbon. Orange and floral lavender bitters create an elegant top note that makes this cocktail idyllic for late spring and summer.

BOTTLED IN BOND BOURBON

Bottled in Bond bourbons brings certain rules and stipulations to the already regulated world of bourbon. While they may seem overly bureaucratic, they exist to ensure exceptional flavor. In lieu of a full history lesson, the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897 are rules that require spirits like whiskey to be aged and bottled according to a set of legal regulations. The rules include but are not limited to:

Bottled and stored in bonded warehouses
Made by one distiller at a single distillery in one season
Must be aged for at least four years
Bottled at precisely 100 proof

What this means for you, is that you get a spectacular bourbon with a well-deserved reputation for quality. The higher proof carries a little more heat than you may be used to in our non-bonded bourbon, so to taste the complex notes we recommend first tasting with ice or a drop of water. Higher proof shows more bourbon characteristics through cocktails, so when mixing drinks, note that these bourbon cocktails are for bourbon lovers.

THE AIR UP THERE

1.5oz Watershed Bottled In Bond

.5oz Watershed Nocino

1oz Sweet Vermouth

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice and stir until well chilled. Strain over ice in a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon peel.

The higher proof of the bourbon stands up to the sweetness found in both the vermouth and the nocino making for a robust a profound finish. Notes of clove and vanilla pounce from the nocino to bind with the nutty and cherry-driven flavors of the bottled in bond bourbon. The sweet vermouth acts as a bridge for all these flavors tying it up together.

STAY GOLD

2oz Watershed Bottled In Bond

.5oz Honey Syrup

.5oz Lemon Juice (Fresh Squeezed)

3 dash Angostura Bitters

Add all ingredients to a shaker tin with ice and shake until well chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with lemon.

This fortified take on the gold rush is light enough for patio sipping, but bourbon forward enough for a dinner party. The woodiness of the bourbon shines through the citrus and honey to delight the tongue with a bourbon permanence throughout.

Our latest bourbons are true expressions of our distillery, our people, and the time it takes to craft. Each time a bourbon shows itself ready from a barrel we’re beyond thrilled to share it with you. If you mix up these drinks, or simply enjoy them over ice or neat make sure to tag us so that we can share and hopefully inspire someone’s next sip. Happy mixing!

Cheers!
Josh