Watershed Distillery — Attraction in Clinton Township

So I’m a bar manager for a new restaurant in Cleveland & was on a one day trip to Columbus. My guy, Tony Thomas, a sales rep for Watershed & I are meeting tomorrow to discuss their spirits so I figured why not come here & have dinner & some drinks?

Man, was I impressed.

The restaurant is located in a random back alley just off of 5th Avenue, which may seem a little strange while you’re driving here, but once you walk in the doors, the atmosphere is intimate & cozy with a gorgeous long wooden bar. I love dimly lit places, as to me personally, makes you never want to leave.

The bartender who served me tonight, Johnathon, was awesome. A bit shy at first, but once I let him know I was in the industry we shared great conversation throughout the night. I’m a big cocktail guy, & as a curator myself, I let John take the steering wheel, allowing him to showcase the cocktails he’s put on the menu & one of his favorites that wasn’t his.

My first cocktail, “The Pressure Drop” features my favorite product made by Watershed, The Bourbon Barrel Aged Four Peel Gin. But wait, did someone say split based? With RUM? Sign me up! Combine those two spirits with a unique aperitif, the herbal & bitter blend of Genepy/Jäegermeister while sweetened with a smoky lapsang tea syrup. Man. That drink was an incredible way to prepare my palate. Big kudos to whoever crafted that.

Next, once getting to know John a little & finding out about his contribution to the menu, I had to try the “DIY Basement Show,” a subtle riff on a Oaxaca Old Fashioned. Who would’ve thought Nocino would pair so exquisitely with Mezcal? I myself, featured Watershed’s Nocino in my restaurant’s fall cocktail menu as an OF variation, but never would I have thought to pair this with Mezcal. The smoke level was perfect, & balanced tremendously with the Demerara & mole bitters.

In between my cocktails, I had the Smash Burger as an "appetizer" & I swear I ate the entire thing within 5 minutes after the delightful food runner dropped it off to me. For $12, just get the damn thing, you won't be disappointed.

Putting all my faith into John once more, I asked him for his opinion between the Short-Rib or the Pork Shoulder Steak, curiously wondering if he could bat 1.000 or if he was just gonna upsell me and have me go for the higher ticket item (The short-rib). My guy told me to go with the Pork Shoulder Steak instead, in which I respected his honesty.

Guys, when I tell you this meal may have been one of the best I’ve had in all of Columbus, I’m not kidding lol (I used to live here for 2 years). The steak was tender, seasoned extremely well, & had this wonderful charred crust. The coconut rice? Cooked perfectly with just the right amount of coconut that didn’t overpower the dish. The greens & tomatoes were also a wonderful addition. My only “picky” suggestion, & I want to emphasize on picky, is I wanted a little more from the chicharrónes, but I understand why they were there.

While eating this entree, I was sipping on the “DIY Basement Show” & my friends, it was an excellent pairing as the smokiness of the drink worked fantastically with the charred Pork Steak. Chef’s kiss.

Finally to end my night, I told John I wanted one more cocktail, & which one he would recommend that were his. We went with “The New Kid Ink Album.” I was a tad on the fence, but I will say John was adamant that I try it. The dude was literally 4/4 how could I say no?

I love a tequila drink, but I saw tequila, soda & habanero & thought meh, not really in the mood for a spicy soda filled margarita. My brother in Christ, do not ever judge a book by its cover or ingredients & just shut up and listen to your bartender.

This thing is one of the best drinks I’ve had, maybe ever? It is so simple, yet refined, and absolutely delicious. The complexity between the agave notes, lemon sherbet & vanilla? The spice & flavor from the Habanero that hits your back palate perfectly and doesn’t overpower? This drink was crafted beautifully.

Huge S/O to John, the chef & the kitchen. I will most...

Heads up - the happy hour is only at the bar which we didn’t realize. We keep giving this place another chance as a dinner option, but the food portions are so small for the price and most of the appetizers are not sharing-sized, except for the potatoes. You have to really strategize your order since the sizes of the dishes are all different. We had another disappointing food experience before when we brought two guests a few months ago. One guest is vegetarian and she got an appetizer and the tiniest veg. “entree” that was one tiny squash in the middle of the plate for about $30. She is a small person and was still hungry after dinner. For the same price, her partner got a giant meat dish that was way more food on the plate for the same price. I emailed Watershed about our experience but never heard back. I can’t remember the bill total for 4, I think I blacked it out of my memory since it was outrageous, but most of us were still hungry after. On the other hand, I’ve had friends order the Smashburger and an appetizer and they were happy with that and it’s good sized. I think the pro tip is so stick with the burger so you’re full. It’s not a great option for vegetarians or if you’re wanting to share food. Be prepared to spend a decent amount of money per person. Drinks are creative and it’s fun choosing from a rotating list of cocktails. Everyone always loves their drinks. I also regularly buy bottles of their vodka and gin. Their service is always good and the ambience is lovely. The flavors of the dishes are impressive and innovative (I’ve never had such a fancy carrot dish), but I just never leave feeling very satisfied food-wise and feel like I want to go somewhere else for more food. We went here once before the pandemic and had an amazing experience but I think the portions went down and the prices up so we haven’t had the same experience compared to other places around town. We are happy paying more for quality food and understand the increased food and labor costs, but I still don’t think the portions of most of the dishes match the prices. Too many times we have left still feeling hungry after spending a lot of money. I still like this place but I’d recommend sticking to the drinks and if you want food then order the burger. I have never had the burger, but I have been jealous when friends ordered it and felt full and said it was good. It seems to be popular so maybe folks have figured...

We visited this distillery last weekend. We were visiting Colombus for a vacation.We were excited to try this distillery as my father really enjoys bourbon and had read great reviews about Watershed. We arrived at the distillery on Sunday shorty after they opened. We had a party of 4 and our son who is 3. We ordered drinks and a bourbon flight.Our server asked about food. I told him that we were just going to stick with drinks for now. The menu looked great but we were just contempt with the drinks at the moment. We could tell he was immediately mad or upset based off of his facial reaction and it showed the remainder of our visit. He did not come over and ask if we wanted another round, nor did he check to see how things were going. I am not a big spirits drinker and I wanted to grab a beer. I knew our server was not going to come over so I went up to the bar to get one. The bartender was pretty cold and reluctantly got me a beer. From that point on, our family continued to get stared at from the bartender, other servers, etc. It was a very uncomfortable environment. In order to get any more drinks, my father had to chase our server down. He was really pleased with the drinks he ordered and wanted to inquire more information about a different drink. He got a very cold response from our server. I believe another round was ordered and than my father purchased 2 bottles of liquor and a candle. Upon realizing that money was being spent, our server became friendly. A totally different person than what we started with. We saw a server who was actually willing to talk to us. I know my father left an extraordinary tip because that is who he is. Our bill was probably over $300 dollars, even without food.

Moral of the story is, the customer service we received was atrocious. The stares our family recieved was inapproiate and it’s funny that your employees attitudes change once you realize we aren’t just getting a drink and leaving. The only person that resembled some sort of kindness was the host that sat us at our table. The distillery ambience was great and the drinks were great. The servers and bartenders are the reason I gave you a 1 star. I will never go back to this distillery. Be prepared to recieve terrible service if you...