Watershed now offers its spirits in multiple locations across Southwest and West-Central Ohio, including Springfield, Hamilton, West Chester and Dayton, and recently introduced two new spirits to the region.
Lehman and Rigo first contemplated opening a microbrewery, Lehman said in a recent visit to Southwest Ohio. But the more the business partners looked into their options, the more appealing a micro-distillery became.
A change in state law in early 2012 that makes it easier for small distilleries to sell and to offer small samples of their products in tasting rooms has helped jump-start the industry again throughout the state, including Southwest Ohio, where several small distilleries are in various stages of development. Watershed Distillery, which sold its first batch of spiritis in December 2010, was out in front of that trend.
Watershed makes Vodka ($24.95) and Four-Peel Gin ($27.95) that is available at multiple locations in the region, including Arrow Wine & Spirits in Kettering and Washington Twp., Wine Works in Springfield, Noonan’s Party Connection in Hamilton and The Wine List in West Chester. The distillery has just rolled out two new products — Bourbon, and a Bourbon Barrel Gin, both $39.95 — that are available at the two Dayton-area Arrow Wine & Spirits stores.
Lehman said he welcomes the additional competition from new Ohio-based distilleries that will start selling their spirits in the next few years. “That will boost awareness that will grow our entire industry,” he said. “They’ll be competitors in a sense, but we’ll all be minnows compared to the largest corporate distilleries.”
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