Review by: DemiTastes
Clear Creek Distillery of Hood River Distillers has lately been churning out delicious and relatively-well-aged 6-year expressions of their McCarthy’s peated American Single Malt Whiskey. Starting with the December 2021 original release of the 6-year, Clear Creek has been progressively releasing 6-year McCarthy’s finished in different types of casks. The McCarthy’s 6 PX-finished release was the passion project of Master Distiller of All Brands, Joe O’Sullivan, which started this trend of releases. This McCarthy’s 6 Oloroso Cask Finished is the first McCarthy’s release for which the newest distiller at Clear Creek, Garrett Trotter, has taken the lead.
The label does not include information about the length of finishing; however, since the PX release was finished for 4 months, it would be fair to assume that this release was finished for at least as long, given the additional months since the PX-finished release which hit the market in September 2022. (Edit: Joe O’Sullivan confirmed in our interview that the Oloroso Cask was, like the PX, produced by Casknolia, and that the length of the finishing time was approximately 4 months.)
From the distillery:
The McCarthy’s Oloroso has the distillery very excited. [This] release pushes our familiar [profile] in a direction both lighter and brinier than previous editions. Designed by our newest distiller Garrett Trotter to be a sunny and welcoming dram, McCarthy’s Oloroso pairs naturally with the balsamic and nutty flavors the world-renowned sherry is famous for. This bottle spotlights the charm of America’s first single malt in a whole new way. With less smoke, more honey, and higher acid this will make your summer cocktail memorable. Oloroso has long been one of the distillery’s favorite sherries. Sourced from Spain, our finishing casks are shipped soon after draining to retain all the walnut and spice notes imparted by the wine. Oloroso is typically dry and produced by oxidative aging, allowing the slow development of sugar and flavors to build over time. The result is a blend inspired by the sherry and custom made for these casks.
This bottling once again presents the distinction (supported by the ASMWC) that McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt was “The First American Single Malt” but unlike the PX release, does not bear the phrase “Cask Strength”. The official bottling is a round-numbered 112 proof (56% ABV).
Today I’m reviewing a barrel sample which was provided to me some months ago, which came in at about 117 proof, and which I am told is substantially similar in profile to the final product. One can only hope; it is delicious. Just in time for Father’s Day gifts, I’ve already bought a bottle for my father and my father-in-law online at Seelbach’s, to be shipped to their doors; and I’ll be buying a bottle for myself next time I visit the distillery in person.
Despite the difference in proof between my sample and the release, it is conceivable that the batching of multiple barrels brought the batch to very close to 112 proof and that this has been released at essentially more or less batch strength.
Having spent the majority of the first quarter of this year taking a break from reviewing spirits, and during which time I was drinking mostly sherry instead, and mostly Oloroso sherry at that, I hope to now have a good context for the flavors the Oloroso brings to this expression.
One last note: I’ll be reviewing the official release at some point once I have a bottle in my hands. For now, let’s get into this sample.
Distillery: Clear Creek Distillery
Bottler: Clear Creek Distillery
Region: Oregon
Style: American Single Malt Whiskey (fits the definition proposed by the ASMWC)
ABV: 56%
Age: 6 years
Cask type: Garryana Oak; finished in Oloroso Casks for approximately 4 months.
Price: $119.99 from Seelbach’s
Color: 1.1 burnished.
Nose: Immediately the McCarthy’s peat smoke is present — but mellowed by the 6 years in a cask, like the standard 6 year release — and the wine fruitiness quickly follows. A highlight of caramel travels with the smoke. Sweet and nutty: marzipan, toasted almonds, and hints of walnut and hazelnut. Faintly but clearly, cotton candy and bubblegum. A background of oyster shell, Ledaig-style. Hint of raw leather. Distant floral perfume and sun-tan oil. After sipping, the nutty flavors are highlighted and an earthy background develops.
Palate: Sweet on the tip of the tongue but nicely modulated by a nice amount of tartness on the arrival which gives way to the classic McCarthy’s bitterness and chili spice — this may be a return to the balanced bitterness of the McCarthy’s single cask I first discovered and fell in love with compared to the relatively sweet 6-year expressions so far. The smoke arrives as the liquid spreads across the tongue along with a pop of black pepper. Coming back later there’s a tiny bit of saltiness on the arrival. The leather and earth notes, along with a moderately oily heft, give the liquid a meaty weight as you roll it around the tongue. But, there’s nothing in the way of barbecued meats here; the spices are more desserty and “meat” doesn’t really register on the palate. There’s more to explore to the tartness — citrus, but unusual, neither quite lemon nor orange nor grapefruit; something like kumquat mixed with the light bitterness of pomelo.
Finish: Long. The fruitiness truly lives here. Chili powder in the back of the throat. Fruit leather and Chinese plum / bayberry, and hints of the cotton candy and marzipan suggested by the nose linger. A cardamom note develops with time. The bitterness reveals a lovely minerality that carries through the fade to black.
Conclusion:
Smoky, sweet, nutty, tart, and bitter. A “return” to my ideal balance in McCarthy’s. Like the wine, great paired with food; like the best of McCarthy’s, perfect to sit with and contemplate for hours.
Like Oloroso itself, this whiskey smells sweeter than it tastes at first; the Oloroso is a good match for the McCarthy’s distillate. Upon the experience of the palate, the nose recalibrates and reveals more layers of complexity past the sweetness. Each time back through from the nose to the finish the experience evolves. My initial impression of this when tasted in the context of other things was that the standard and PX 6 year expressions wow’d me more initially, but this whiskey is undeniably more nutty than other McCarthy’s expressions and stands up as both a lovely casual drink to have with food or conversation, but also as a quite balanced whiskey that really benefits from some quiet contemplation when you can spare the time.
Buy a bottle? Absolutely. One of the best values in McCarthy’s.
Final Score: 92
(DemiTastes Review #72, ASMW #29)
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 
