Whisky of the Week

Meandering the world, one whisky at a time

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Tag: Rating: Good

Whisky of the Week review and tasting notes for whisky I rated Good.  When the whisky is drinkable but forgettable.  One of us sometimes doesn’t finish the glass.  The bottle might be in my collection for a long long time.  Rating: Good

McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt Whiskey

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On 04/18/2014

In Single Malt whisky

McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt Whiskey header
I found a McCarthy’s single malt whiskey from the USA here in South Africa. The USA is one of our favourite countries to travel around. About a quarter of the items on our buckets list relate to North America. So testing something from an area I still want to visit is awesome.

Top places we still want to visit include Denali, visiting Yellow Stone and hiking the Appalachian Trail.

America is traditionally known for its bourbon and Tennessee type whiskeys. But as smaller distilleries and single malt continue to rise in productivity and popularity, a few American craft whiskies are beginning to distinguish themselves.

I was fortunate to get hold of a bottle of McCarthy’s single malt from my favourite whisky shop, WhiskyBrother. McCarthy’s is a single malt whiskey produced at the Clear Creek Distillery near Portland, in Oregon. Not only does Clear Creek Distillery make single malts, but distil brandy and liqueurs as well.



McCarthy’s single malt is made from 100% malted barley imported from Scotland. It is heavily peated in the Islay tradition and draws comparisons to prominent Islay whiskies such as Lagavulin.

The whiskey is pot-distilled and aged in ex-sherry casks for 3 years in the foothills of Mount Hood, Oregon. McCarthy’s is partly aged in barrels made from air-dried Oregon oak.

My bottle is from batch number w10-01, bottled in November 2010 and has a 42.5% AVB. I am excited to try this American McCarthy’s single malt whiskey, especially a peated one with an Islay likeness.

Related Article: WL Weller Wheated Bourbon

McCarthy’s Single Malt Whiskey Review

McCarthy's Oregon whiskey with glass
COUNTRY: USA

ABV: 42.5%

COLOUR: Pale golden with a hint of green.

NOSE: It has a very delicate nose, with wood, light BBQ smoke and flowers coming through. Quite young still.

PALATE: Tasting it brought oak, BBQ smoke and light medicinal peat. It is not as peaty as I expected it to be. Some sweet notes in the background with a hint of milk chocolate.

FINISH: A sharp pepper finish with some bitterness and isn’t very long.

RATING: GOOD

McCarthy’s Oregon single malt whiskey is  smooth, and taking into account that it is only 3 years old, a decent whisky for this young age. Not the most complex of drams, but certainly interesting. The peat is not overwhelming, and even someone who has not tried peat before can enjoy it.

I will be looking out for more of this distillery as it holds a lot of promise. Hopefully, we can add visiting this distillery to our bucket list. Another American whiskey that I have tried is the Slaughter House American Whiskey. See my thoughts on this release here.

Also Read: Wild Turkey Rare Breed Bourbon


The Arran Sherry Cask Whisky

By

On 03/09/2014

In Single Malt whisky

Review and tasting notes Arran Malt Sherry Cask single malt whisky
Today I look at the Arran Sherry Cask single cask Scotch whisky.  The Arran distillery is situated to the east of the village of Lochranza, on the isle of Arran, Scotland.

At its peak, there were over 50 distilleries located on the isle. Founded in 1993, the distillery is the only one left on the island.During its construction, a pair of Golden Eagles built their nest in the crags above the distillery.  Golden Eagles are a protected species.

Construction of the distillery was temporarily halted to allow the eagles to hatch their chicks. On a warm summer’s day, you may see the eagles gliding high on the thermal currents.

Arran is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde. With an area of 432 square kilometres, it is the seventh-largest Scottish island. Production of whisky started in 1995. It has been claimed that the water used for The Arran Malt is the purest in all of Scotland.



The water has reputedly been cleansed by granite and softened by peat as it slowly meanders from the mountaintops into nearby Loch na Davie. The Arran Malt distillery also benefits from a warm microclimate.

The atmosphere of sea breezes and clear mountain air, with the warm flow of the Gulf Stream, is ideal for the maturation of single malts. The Arran Island is sometimes called “Scotland in miniature”, as it is divided into “Highland” and “Lowland” areas by the Highland Boundary Fault.

I have Arran Sherry Cask whisky bottle 186 of 285 from Cask 109. The single malt whisky was distilled in 1998 and bottled in 2006. This bottle is a Limited Edition matured in a Sherry cask.

Related Article: Jura Origin 10yo Whisky

The Arran Sherry Cask Whisky Review

Review and tasting notes The Arran Malt Sherry Cask whisky with glass
REGION: Islands

ABV: 46%

COLOUR: Dark golden amber with a hint of red.

NOSE: On nosing, the sherry sweetness is very noticeable. Dried fruit and wood also come through, with hints of butterscotch in the background. It’s not a very oily whisky, but it does leave nice streaks on the inside of a glass.

PALATE: On the palate, the expected sweetness does not come through. Instead, raisins, dried fruit, wood and some spice emerge. Underneath, there is a bit of  butterscotch. The Arran has a medium body.

FINISH: Lingering. The whisky ends on notes of pepper, burnt caramel, ginger and aniseed. It becomes a bit sweeter again on the finish. The relative youth of the spirit seems to come through. The flavour is there, but they have not combined as well as they could. It might be that with longer ageing, things will improve.

RATING: GOOD

Compared to some of the other young whiskies in my collection, one feels something is missing. It is by no means a bad whisky – it is just a bit disjointed.

The Arran has a range of expressions, some of them quite collectable. I look forward to adding some more expressions to my collection in the future.  I have also tasted the Arran Napoleon Cognac cask release, and enjoyed it a lot more.

Also Read: Glen Grant Major’s Reserve Whisky



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