The bottle:
McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt
from Clear Creek Distillery
Batch no. W13-02
Bottled 16 September, 2013
I picked up this whiskey at Riverbend Liquor & Wine. The woman at the shop said that she had never heard of it when a customer placed a special order for it nearly two years ago. I guess he bought it regularly for a while, but hadn’t been in lately, so the shop still happened to have one bottle, and I was happy for the opportunity to try something new.
The process:
This stuff is fascinating. For one thing, it’s made from imported peat-malted Scottish barley straight from Port Ellen Maltings, which is perfectly calculated to appeal to an Islay fanatic like me. For another, this is a truly local, hands-on endeavor of the heart. The wash itself is made by Widmer Brothers Brewing Company, a Portland brewery contracted by Clear Creek. It is then handed over to be distilled. The distillation is done on tiny, slow-running, German eau-de-vie copper stills. Even the 400L barrels used in the spirits’ aging are local, made from air-dried Oregon white scrub oak.
The first step in the aging process takes place in old casks that have been reused time and again. After a year in these, the liquor is transferred to slightly newer barrels for another year. A third, final year of aging is spent in brand new oak. The result is a solid American single malt with a distinctive Hebridean twist. Essentially, it tastes like Islay Peat and Oregon Oak decided to ditch the fighting and talk it out over a dram around the campfire.
Overall, this chill, moderately peated dram makes a great patio pounder. I’d buy it again, and enjoy it with a couple drops of water and a cool, clear night.