McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt

They make it with Scottish barley to approximate an Islay, but it's not quite an Islay in that it's lacking the sea salt and brininess. That doesn't mean this isn't a fine whisky in its own right. A friend of mine tasted this at a liquor store in NY, and apparently, that place ships to my location even though many store don't. In fact, he sent me two bottles because the location couldn't ship from Chicago, and as happens with any gifted whisky, I was grateful, even though I'd never heard of McCarthy's. We had a FaceTime call, I cracked this one open. And... It actually reminds me a lot more of the peated Irish whisky Dark Silkie. The nose is peat smoke that has the faint trace of rubber with undertones of chocolate and coffee. There's a slight cured meat aroma but it's a very faint trace in the background. In other words, the aroma contains all I like in a peated whisky other than that brininess. Sometimes, people comment on youth in a whisky, and in this case, it's actually surprising that it's only 3 years old. I'm not saying it tastes like a 10 year. But it's punching above its weight. On the palate the peat continues but there's a sweetness like the darker chocolate aromas on the nose become a milk chocolate on the palate, a nice mocha blend with the coffee, a little bit of cream in there, you know? The finish itself has a bit of spice, but it's also smooth, no alcohol burn, and it lingers, I wouldn't say for days, but let's say, just long enough to give one an appreciation that this is a unique expression one's been lucky to get one's hands on. The buddy who shipped this to me actually shipped two bottles. Hold onto the second one for me, he asked. And on the FaceTime call he said, "I'm going to the distillery next month and if I can get my hands on some more to bring it back to Chicago, the second bottle is yours to do with as you wish. If I can't, well, it just means I have to visit again so we can enjoy it together." And hearing that, well, isn't that really a win-win in either case? A second bottle of good whisky for my own purposes or a second bottle of good whisky to enjoy with my friend? Truth be told, I'd prefer option two.

Nose - Sweet campfire smoke, sweet cereal malt, tiny hint of dark toffee, very faint hint of berries Taste - Sweet campfire smoke, very light apple juice sweet, hint of vanilla & caramel sweet, brown simple, light kettle corn metallic Finish - Light sweet campfire smoke, light kettle corn metallic, metallic apple juice Score - 77/100 Final Thoughts - So this is a very clean and simple lightly peated malt. I can tolerate the peat in this one as it's a lot cleaner, drier smoke than that of Laphroaig. That being said, it's also a fairly simple malt too where I struggled to find many flavors other than that of a straightforward cereal malt. Tiny hints of apple & maybe some berries, but that was pushing it. The kettle corn metallic taste was a bit strange but not too unpleasant. This might be a decent intro to a lightly peated malt but I think it might be a bit boring. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose: Medium peat smoke. Hickory, bacon, blackened BBQ, vanilla bean, light aroma of rubber. Action figures. Flavor: Heavier peat and smoke than the aroma would lead you to believe. Mesquite bbq, pineapple, bold green apple, bitter dark chocolate, butter and burnt caramel. Oak and earth notes, leather, rum and a hint of cinnamon. None of sea or iodine of the best Islay scotch. More reminiscent of Laphroig 10 or Caol Ila 12 than a selection from Ardbeg or Lagavulin. A great combination of a Oregon and Scotland. Water dilutes it too much. A pour with a stone cools it and brings out the sweetness and fruit notes but dulls the complexity. Prefer served neat. My favorite American whiskey but then again, I love Scotch and this is very close to a scotch.

Batch no. W22-01 The whisky itself is oily and rich, having notes of apple, cinnamon, hay, oak, and slight medicinal herb bitterness. There is a slight iodine, and the peat is relatively intense and lasts throughout the finish. The finish is medium length. Similar peat to laphroaig select or ardbeg 10. I love this whisky. It is in my top 10, and any islay fan should pick this up for a try. it’s price point it’s relatively great for a whisky this peaty and it’s a really interesting American single malt. Hands down the best I’ve had so far.

Nose: peat, some slight bacon fat. Palate: less viscous than the cask strength. Peat is balanced well with the malt notes. Has mild salinity, a strong full mouthfeel. there's some more sweetness here. This is a much more well rounded expression (at least compared to the cask strength from Tuesday). Actually love this. Some small notes of brown sugar. There's some mild salinty, and a tiny bit of meatyness à la ardbeg Finish: some barrel char, wood tanin, mild peat phenols.

The nose is vegetal peat with green bark and moss. Surprising amount of alcohol punch. No sweetness. The taste still punches. Got some malt and peatiness. Bit hot. But it's very short. Almost no finish. Wish it lasted longer. It's definitely interesting. Fun to have around as a novelty. Probably won't be a standard. (It is fun to see the Pacific NW take its love of over-hopping beer, and now begin over-peating its whisky.)