McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt Whiskey

I tried this in '08 so I'm not sure what their current bottlings are like, but I did like it and would rate it an 80-85 although I rated it a bit lower at that time. It is not a peat power-house like some of the Ardbegs, but for the cost it is a nice lightly peated whisky. On the nose I noted Honey, Peat, Salami on the palate, sweet, light and pleasantly peaty.

Honey, peat and salami. An interesting bouquet to say the least. Thank you for your reply.

I cannot say it enough, try McCarthy's. Don't dismiss it because of it's birth place. It is one of the world's best. True not the peatiest, but still unforgettable. Support Pacific NW distilleries!

In case there are some WA local folks out there who are still interested in trying this malt, WA State Liquor Board just put it on "closeout" sale for $25.95. Very few left in inventory, be sure to call to verify quantities with stores.

@evarees I just came home with four bottles. I may go back and buy four more. It's one of my favorites and a good deal at $50 a bottle. It's a steal at $25. Yay!

@Wodha: I just sent them an email to see where someone in my part of the country could find a bottle. I would never dismiss a bottle because of it's birthplace: No one has a monopoly on good taste and chemistry.

Outstanding whisky, and an absolute steal at the cost. I would recomend this to anyone, but due to its suprisingly small amount of "alcohol burn" for the strength and taste of it, I reckon this is particularly well suited to people just begining their whisky journey.

Eagerly awaiting a bottle of this that was picked up by my dad and his wife, last month in Kentucky, on my behalf. I will likely be picking it up at the end of next week, along with a bottle of Talisker 18 that they purchased for me.

I am a big fan of McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt Whiskey, as I expressed in my review of it.

Not much to add beyond what others have already said; this is one darn good dram!

Nicely peated without being overpowering. It has an intriguing nose/palate that, for me, includes barbeque sauce. Some may find it a little 'thin' on the palate, compared to some Islay's, but the flavour profile is complex, interesting, and very enjoyable. A definite 'must buy' if you see it available.

I have a bottle in my current open collection, and it's going pretty quick. Like others have already said, this isn't a peat monster, but it's got a nice peaty kick, and it's unique to anything else.

Has anyone compared the bottling releases? 2008 made a big splash around the world, but McCarthy had been making single malt scotch a lot longer than that, and it's been coming out every year since 2008, I believe, if I"m not mistaken.

I would be very interested indeed to hear how the 2012 compares with the 2008, for example.

My comment here probably calls for me to check my bottle's batch number or something. Without that info handy, though, I'll just say that a bottle I just bought (January 2013) is dark and muddy tasting -- not nearly as good as the sample I last had around 2010. At that time, I thought it was great. Peaty of course. Fresh. Zippy. Clean. You must allow for poor "taste memory," but I really think it's changed.

Of my current bottle, I've had just a couple straight drams of this. Not good. It does, however, make for a excellent "additive" to spice up something else that's otherwise mediocre. Half McCarthy's + half Jura Superstiion is a fine dram. Half McCarthy's + half "mixed decanter of forgettable bottle remnants" is passable.

As a $35 invigorator, it's worthwhile. On its own, no thanks.

Interesting. If you bought in Jan of 2013 then it was most likely a 2012 bottling, unless you live in an area where the McCarthy's doesn't sell fast, in which case it could be a 2011.

I'm crossing my fingers that the 2013 bottling will be better and less muddy. It certainly costs more than $35 in Oregon. It will be selling for around $50 this year. That is too much for mud, especially from a distillery called "Clear Creek!"

Ha! I hadn't cottoned on to the latent irony in my "muddy" label. I love it.

My muddy bottle was a dusty find from a shop in Madison, WI. Their last one. ($35 was a markdown from their usual price of ~$45.) I have no idea if it sells a lot around here, but I would guess not. I'll look up and post the lot number if I don't forget.

Oregon is a fine place to make whisky. The water in Portland is not fluoridated and it is fresh from Mt. Hood. Scotland stopped fluoridating its water, along with 95% of Europe. Water fluoridation is for suckers. It's bad for whisky and bad for your health.

No, it's not the same as the pharma grade fluoride in most toothpastes. It is low grade industrial slag from China, along with other waste products tucked in there, like arsenic, which is also an industrial waste product that goes into the bags of "fluoride." The Scottish know what they're doing when it comes to keeping the "water of life" free of carcinogen-causing additives masquerading as healthcare, albeit forced healthcare with no regard to dosage or purity.

Well done, Scotland! Oregon is struggling to keep its water free of fluoride. The City hall is fighting dirty to spike the water with poison by pushing through draconian legislation without voter approval in a town that has voted down fluoride three times already. I worked hard this past summer educating people to keep that from happening, and I gathered 77 signatures for the Voter Referendum.

The vote in a few months will decide whether our clean, pure water will be spiked with industrial slag from China or not. It's hard work gathering signatures and educating people that have been brainwashed by the media machine and organizations like the ADA and the AMA that are controlled by big pharma et all. I will now go back on the streets to educate voters about the harmful effects of the crap being pawned off as "fluoride to help underprivileged kids teeth."

Personally, I will get a filter for my home if the water in Portland is "fluoridated" (polluted with toxins). I can afford one. But what of all the underprivileged kids that will be poisoned? What of the brainwashed people who know no better? It would be so sad for them.

Scotland is a leader in this regard. My hat's off to the Scottish for keeping their water clean.

McCarthy's whisky will certainly benefit from not having to filter its water of industrial waste and low grade "fluoride." The water in Portland makes for great whisky as does the water in Scotland. Slainte mhath!

I'm looking forward to buying a few bottles of McCarthy's early next month when they go on sale at Clear Creek Distillery! I plan on touring the distillery. It's certainly in a great part of town, near a lot of cool bars, nightclubs, theaters (with actors not movie theaters), and restaurants.

So I stopped slacking and I dug up my "muddy" bottle's batch number: W12-01. Bottled May 7, 2012.

I see that one of the extant reviews of McCarthy's on this site calls it Caol Ila's younger brother. I'd make that trade any day.

Sadly, my bottle's remnants will probably end up dumped into a bottle of Jura Superstition to improve both constituents.

Yep, I dumped it into the Jura Superstition!

All told, I probably drank 20% of this bottle on its own and used the rest to invigorate other boring stuff.