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Please read and drink responsibly.
Classification: American Single Malt
Company: Hood River Distillers
Distillery: Clear Creek Distillery
Release Date: Ongoing
Proof: 100
Age: 6 Years
Mashbill: 100% Peated-Malted Scottish Barley
Color: Golden Straw
MSRP: $97 / 750mL (2024)
Peated malt | Heavy campfire smoke | White peppercorn | Faint pear | Earthy
Lightly charred oak | Liquid smoke | Peppercorn mix | Light vanilla | Touch of white peach | Peat
Heavy campfire smoked malted barley | Light crisp pear | Faint oak | White peppercorn spice
A peated whiskey lover’s dream, right in America’s own backyard.
Hood River Distillers’ McCarthy Whiskey line is distilled by Clear Creek Distillery in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1934 in Hood River, Oregon, Hood River Distillers got its start by making fruit wine from excess apples, berries, and pears from the Hood River Valley harvests. Hood River Distillers received the first state distiller's license (DSP-OR-1) and has been in business ever since. Clear Creek Distillery was founded in 1985 with “a vision to use the bountiful fruits of the Pacific Northwest to create fruit-based spirits that rivaled the best of their European counterparts.” Hood River Distillers purchased Clear Creek Distillery in 2014, which allowed Hood River Distillers to acquire a distillery rich with single malt experience.
Fans of scotch probably don’t try to seek out American alternatives too often. This is due to the fact that American single malt whiskeys usually taste nothing like their overseas brethren, instead offering big bold sips that stand out all on their own. McCarthy's takes the opposite approach, delivering a flavor profile that peat-heavy scotch drinkers will likely be drawn to.
The sip opens with a hearty dose of heavy campfire smoke and peated malt. A faint pear sweetness appears, but overall, the whiskey delivers a very earthy opening. The midpoint carries over a similar flavor profile, swapping pear for white peach before the finish flairs up the campfire note even more. Ending the sip, much like it started, is a reflection of the even-keeled nature of this whiskey. Much like I found with the Lost Lantern 2021 Single Cask #6: McCarthy’s Peated Oregon Single Malt release, if you have a peat-happy scotch lover in your life, this is a good bottle to keep on hand to remind them of the capabilities of distilleries right in America’s own backyard.
The bottle in review comes from batch number MC6 22-01 and was bottled on 9/8/22.
