Bold cinnamon | Spiced apple | Nutmeg | Baking spices | Rye grain | Touch of tobacco leaf | Light ethanol

Cinnamon syrup | Rye spice | Apple turnover filling | Charred oak | Nougat | Black peppercorn | Intense

Cigar box | Pipe tobacco | Dry oak | Rye spice | Earthy & dry flavors | Lingering

Watershed, a craft distillery based in Columbus, Ohio is best known for their ongoing and limited release bourbons. The company introduced their first limited edition rye product in 2023 consisting of only 125 bottles. Following up that release is Batch 2, which ramps up the limited nature of their rye line by only consisting of only 100 bottles. During my visit to the distillery, Watershed Co-Founder Greg Lehman told me that the limited availability of their rye right now was due to the fact that they initially only laid down 5 barrels of rye to age. The company had plans to distill a few barrels per year but got sidetracked, and right now they're releasing a barrel of rye a year while they distill and age additional rye.

As you might expect with a whiskey that’s 145.4 proof, nothing about Watershed Barrel Strength Rye Batch 002 is downplayed. The sip is big and bold from start to finish delivering flavors that mingle well together, but always make their presence known. This starts with bold cinnamon and spiced apple on the nose, which combines with other baking spices along with an expected presence of alcohol for the proof. The midpoint is an intense rush of cinnamon syrup, rye spice, and various supporting sweet and spicy notes that pack a punch. This intensity carries through to the finish, which delivers doses of earthy and dry flavors that last for an incredibly long time. Don’t mistake Watershed Barrel Strength Rye Batch 002 as just a whiskey that high proof lovers will chase for the proof, as this is one rye that packs a flavorful punch. Thanks to its high proof though, it forces you to slow down and enjoy the sip and really ponder how Watershed was able to knock it out of the park on their very first attempt at rye when they laid down those initial five barrels.