At 2018 San Francisco World Spirits Competition
The gin, made in partnership with Cameron Mitchell Restaurants’ Concept, The Guild House, infuses citrus-forward gin with chamomile & rose petal.
Having entered the San Francisco World Spirits Competition for only the second time since their founding, Watershed Distillery is the recipient of the Double Gold designation and winner of “Best Flavored Gin” category for their Guild Series Gin, made in collaboration with Columbus-based Cameron Mitchell Restaurants’ The Guild House. The Double Gold designation is awarded to the few entries that receive gold medal ratings by all members of the judging panel.
2018 marked the 18th year of the San Francisco World Spirits Competition; it was founded in 2000 to recognize exceptional products in the spirits industry. The 2018 competition was the largest in its history, featuring more than 2,200 entries.
Guild Series Gin, a corn and apple-based spirit, is distilled in the style of a traditional gin, though juniper takes a back seat to more floral rose petal, nutmeg and chamomile flavors. After distillation, dried chamomile flowers are macerated in the gin.
Guild Series Gin is the product of the unique partnership Watershed Distillery and Cameron Mitchell Restaurants have forged over recent years. The Double Gold designation highlights the collaborative efforts of two companies with strong roots in the Columbus community.
“We were a growing company looking for a way to do business with the largest restaurant partner in Columbus,” said Watershed co-founder Dave Rigo. “We started by having a conversation about how to take local to another level. This led to the idea of doing something collaborative. Two local companies working together to make something unique became Guild Series Gin. We spent, at minimum, 12 different sessions going back and forth with their beverage and culinary teams on this project. Seven different botanical combinations and three post-distillation macerations later and we came up with something pretty special. Guild Series Gin was born in August 2015 and our partnership has grown more and more each year since.”
“One of the coolest things we get to do as distillers in Columbus, is work with other amazing people and businesses in the community,” added Watershed co-founder Greg Lehman. “We had a great time working with the team from Cameron Mitchell’s on a signature gin for their Guild House restaurant. Seeing it win double gold in San Francisco makes us feel great about what we are doing and the caliber of people in this industry here in Columbus, Ohio.”
“The question wasn’t if local was relevant – the question was how do we do something with a local company when we have all of these relationships with large national brands,” said Ryan Valentine, director of beverage, Cameron Mitchell Restaurants. “Watching from afar, I’ve always liked the quality of what Watershed was doing and they were interested in partnering with us. They were open-minded to doing something a little more unique by letting us develop a gin from botanical selection forward with them. This went from becoming one of my favorite projects to work on to a great partnership – and now, some incredible recognition from what comes when community partners are willing to be creative and collaborative.”
Guild Series Gin is available for purchase at The Guild House, located in Columbus’ Short North Arts District, and at Watershed Distillery’s bottle shop, located at 1145 Chesapeake Avenue, Suite D, Columbus, Ohio, 43221.
Firmly rooted in the belief that success doesn’t happen overnight and certainly doesn’t happen by chance, Watershed seeks to create and celebrate change within the community and beyond. Offering a family of 7 spirits, tells the story of our dogged commitment to perfection. Distillery tours are offered to the public and can be scheduled by visiting:
www.watersheddistillery.com. For more information, recipes or to request an interview, please email claire@watersheddistillery.com.
