Review #58: McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt, 3yrs, Clear Creek Distillery, Batch #W11-01, bottled 6/2011, 42.5% abv

I like the descriptive label

It tells you: the peated barley is from Scotland, the mash was fermented by Widmer Bros, he used a pot still, it's aged 3 years, it's NCF. The label also has a picture of Multnomah Falls for some reason. I'm still confused as to how a guy with a still that he uses to make framboise manages to make peated whisky, but whatever.

nose: two-stroke engine burning oil, country ham with extra salt, new Nikes, seasoned firewood.

palate is softer and greasier than I expected, but still phenolic. The new-sneaker-smell seems to have become almost plummy. (and yet for some reason I think it's the same flavor, just different.)

the finish is suitably long for the heavy peat, but maybe a little sour in the end.

The great thing about this is that the flavors are intense at 42.5%. There are peat-profiles I like better, but this holds its own, easily.

score: 83