Stewed apples | Cinnamon | Vanilla | Burnt caramel | Charred oak | Potent

Apple brandy | Apple cobbler | Baking spice | Stone fruit | Rich

Dark plum | Black cherry | Rich oak | Touch of cognac | Hot & potent

Watershed continues to ride high on their apple brandy finished bourbon. Now in its third batch, it has unfortunately only gotten more allusive for the average consumer. Regulated to a distillery-only lottery and rare pop up at the distillery itself, Watershed's second best product deserves to be experienced by more whiskey drinkers.

Batch 003 once again is apple brandy focused which is to be expected of course, but the uptick in proof has made this whiskey punchier than ever. Not only does it come across as richer and a lot more potent, the flavors themselves have changed ever so slightly from the previous batches that they now taste more zeroed in. It’s not a drastic change, but one that is noticeable drinking them side by side. The whiskey still isn’t as sweet as you might expect it to be, instead leaning more dark and robust, like a good Starbucks coffee should be. The third batch of Watershed Bourbon Finished in Apple Brandy Barrels is well done and nicely showcases the refinement Watershed bourbon is showing at this stage in the distillery’s development. The company’s Nocino Finished Bourbon is still Watershed’s best product in my opinion but it has unfortunately been in somewhat of a hibernation. This makes it all the more reason for Watershed to ramp up production of their apple brandy finished bourbon and unleash it on the greater bourbon community.