Whisky: McCarthy’s 3 Year (2016) for Hard Water

Country/Region: United States/Oregon

ABV: 55.6

Cask: 2nd Fill Garryana Oak

Age: 3 Years (Distilled 16 Feb. 2016, Bottled 3 Feb. 2020)

Nose: Honey, butter, toast, faintly herbal and earthy with dried herbs, leaves, modeling clay, preserved lemon and pine, and jasmine mint tea.

Palate: Medium-bodied, citrusy and herbal, malty pastries with thyme, lavender, and berries, preserved citrus, tobacco, hints of charred oak, and charcoal in the background with an underlying earthiness.

Finish: Medium to long with mild tobacco, honey, and earth.

Score: 7

Mental Image: Flapjacks for Lumberjacks

Narrative & Notes: The aroma was honeyed and sweet with a malty-toasty core that drifted toward preserved herbs and fallen leaves. A beautiful earthiness developed with more time as pine and mint tea emerged while sweet pastries fell away. The profile had a lovely preserved citrus with faint salt and charcoal— preserved grilled lemons? With a lovely herbal undercurrent and a lingering note of mint, the dram had a classy garden vibe that brought to mind preserves and nibbles around a freshly lit brazier. The finish faded with a kiss of earthy smoke and a hint of citrus.

A great introduction to Clear Creek distillery and their American single malt label. The dates above are a bit off from when the single malt was put into a barrel (13 Feb.) as it rested for a few days. It was also disgorged several months earlier than it was bottled and sat, I assume, in an inert container as COVID-19 began the pop up in major cities on the US West Coast. No doubt the pandemic played significant havoc in the bottle getting to consumers— it was originally selected for the Hard Water bar in San Francisco, but without any way to open up and bring it to customers, it was turned over to K&L and given a public release.

The peat was remarkably subtle on this as notions of gardens and autumn ran out ahead of the fainter notions of charcoal or tobacco—a well-balanced experience and one that left me excited to try more from Clear Creek.