Whisky: McCarthy's 5 Year Cask 702 for Aficionados Group Selection

Country/Region: United States/Oregon

ABV: 61.4%

Cask: Rum Barrel

Age: 5 Years (Bottled 23 Oct. 2023)

Nose: Barbecue smoke with smoldering wood, charred meat, and sweet marinade; hints of pine and tropical fruits behind the acrid grill with subtle dried grass and wood shavings.

Palate: Medium-bodied and oily with dirty grill grates and tropical fruit popsicles, young coconut, dried grass, hints of menthol and mango, smoldering charcoal with hints of lighter fluid and wood shavings; peppery with a touch of salt at the end.

Finish: Medium-length and peppery with fruit, wood, and barbecue.

Score: 6-7 (81)

Mental Image: Late to the Beach Barbecue

Narrative & Notes: When someone tells you they have a cask of rum matured McCarthy’s, the peated malt from Oregon’s Clear Creek Distillery, the only responsible answer… how can I get some? That about sums up my experience after discovering two friends ended up with casks of rum-matured McCarthy’s. To their knowledge, these were the only rum-maturated malt on the premises and an experiment not likely to be repeated. This was the first of those two casks to be released. I imagine we will see the second sometime in 2024, perhaps even with another year of maturation under its belt, which seems like no bad thing as the wood influence was relatively balanced against the peated malt.

My wife enjoyed the whisky flavors, comparing them to hawker stalls and dining in Southeast Asia, not to mention the vaguely tropical coconut flavors and sweet, salty tang to the flaming woks and grills. I ended up picturing a less exotic locale— instead, it was all beach barbecue notes, but the kind when you run late and play clean-up duty eating the chopped fruits with only the smell of the grill to comfort you.  You should have been on time.

Overall, well-balanced and intriguing, with a lovely oily mouthfeel and a bit of peppery spirit toward the end.  The aroma featured a delightful meatiness I wish had come through on the palate, but the experience was still enjoyable.