Review #194: Watershed Bourbon Fall Finishing Series, Apple Brandy Finish, Batch 5

MASH BILL: undisclosed

AGE: 6 yrs

PROOF: 129.2 

COST: $90 for 750mL bottle (I’m reviewing a sample)

Fall is in the air: leaves are falling, the canopies of the Blue Ridge Mountains are starting to get splashes of color, the air is starting to get crisp, and it’s apple picking time. So it’s time to start busting out some pours that get me into the fall mood and mix up some fall inspired cocktails. A friend gave me a sample of this Watershed apple brandy finished bourbon. It sounds like the perfect accompaniment to the shift in weather the past week or so. Let’s see if it further entrenches me into the autumnal spirit!

Reviewed neat in a Glencairn (unless denoted otherwise).

APPEARANCE: Burnished copper (1.4), fairly oily with slow, medium bodied legs. 

NOSE: I get a permanent marker smell, heavy ethanol right away. It’s overwhelming but I do eventually dig past it to pick up a couple notes: caramel apple and allspice. That's really it. It’s unfortunate that hit of ethanol is so dominating. (With a teaspoon of water to a 1oz pour, I cut through that permanent marker smell some, but only get an additional note of tart, green apple.)

PALATE: A thin mouthfeel but a little oily coating on the palate. Rubbing alcohol and green apple. Honestly, if Sharpie teamed up with Crayola and made a "Green Apple" color, this is what it would taste like. There is a hint of tannic oak going into the finish (With a teaspoon of water to a 1oz pour, I get notes of caramel, apple bitters, and vanilla frosting).

FINISH: A short finish and hot as hell with a big ol’ bear hug! There's an off flavor here that's synthetic in nature. It makes me think of a cross between a plastic and petroleum flavor. (With a teaspoon of water to a 1oz pour, the finish is very short, still with a synthetic feel, but a little vanilla, caramel apple, and tannic oak show up now.)

RATING: 1.2/10

OVERALL: This…was an awful experience. When I first had this pour shared with me, I was really excited for it because I’ve reviewed a few other apple brandy and calvados finished whiskies and they all really impressed me and clicked with my palate. But this one simply did not. After reading a few other reviews for this, I don’t think I’m alone either though. While I did see a few middle-of-the-road reviews, there’s a lot of people that seemed like they weren’t impressed with this pour, so I don’t think it’s a one-off bad bottle. While water did help cut some of the harsh ethanol and allowed me to pick out a few apple, caramel, and vanilla notes, my ratings are based around the neat tasting. This was just way too toxic on the palate to really dive in and enjoy it. You win some, you lose some, amiright? Needless to say, this is NOT the fall flavor I was looking for.

 

1 | Disgusting | Watershed Apple Brandy Finished Bourbon

2 | Poor | Balcones Lineage

3 | Bad | High West Double Rye, Jefferson's Ocean 28

4 | Sub-par | Weller's SR, Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select, Hillrock Estate Sauternes CS

5 | Good | Buffalo Trace, Sazerac Rye, Green River Wheated

6 | Very Good | Blanton's, Holladay Bourbons, Eagle Rare

7 | Great | Baker's 7yr SiB, BBCo Origin High Wheat, 1792 BiB

8 | Excellent | Most ECBP batches, Maker's Mark Wood Finishing releases, High West MWND Act 11

9 | Incredible | Woodford Reserve Batch Proof 121.2, BBCo Disco #7 and #13, Four Roses OESQ

10 | Perfect | Found North Batch 08, RR15