Another holiday season is upon us, and with it comes the opportunity to share a dram (or three) with our dear ones, ideally cozied up by a warm (gas-powered–spare the air!) fireplace. Longtime club members may recall my frequent musings on whisky’s relationship to the seasons. While I enjoy this wonderful spirit year-round, it is especially enticing in the colder months.
This quarter’s selection comes from one of the longest-standing craft distilleries in the U.S. and offers flavors reminiscent of the finest smokey scotches–perfect for the long, chilly nights of winter. Here’s wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season!
Sláinte!
Sam Crocker
Spirits Buyer
| McCarthy’s 6 Year Oregon Single Malt Oloroso Cask Finished | |
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Region: Hood River, Oregon |
McCarthy’s is widely recognized as the first American Single Malt since prohibition with its first bottling released in 1998. Founder Steve McCarthy set out to create an American Whiskey in the style of Single Malt Scotch. All McCarthy’s Single Malts are produced by Clear Creek Distillery, a leading craft distillery in Oregon (now part of Hood River Distillers, Oregon’s oldest distillery), and begin with 100% peated two-row barley sourced from Scotland, which is fermented, distilled and aged in Oregon. All McCarthy’s whiskeys are aged in new and used medium-toast Oregon Oak from Oregon Barrel Works that is air-dried for thirty-six months before use. This limited edition release is aged 6 years before being finished for six to eight months in Oloroso Sherry casks sourced from Spain, which are shipped shortly after they’ve been emptied in order to retain the nutty and spicy notes typical of Oloroso sherry. Originally opened in Portland in 1985, Clear Creek Distillery was founded with a vision to create fruit-based spirits with the bountiful fruits of the Pacific Northwest. Using old-world techniques and sourcing ingredients from the local orchards and fresh water springs of Mount Hood in the Oregon countryside, Clear Creek became one of the first craft distilleries in the United States. The distillery moved from Portland to Hood River after being purchased by Hood River Distilling in 2014. |
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Master Distillers: Caitlin Bartlemay and Garrett Trotter |
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Cask Type: Oregon Oak (Quercus garryana); finished in Oloroso Sherry casks |
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ABV: 56% (112 proof) |
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Price: $129.99/750ml |
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Tasting Notes: Lots of smoke on the nose: smoked meat, barbecue, and sooty charcoal aromas reminiscent of Laphroaig. On the palate, more smoke but with some fruit notes of apple, cherry, and orange, along with bitter chocolate and charcoal embers, all wrapped in beautiful campfire smoke. -Whisky Advocate (95 Points) |
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