Oregon Single Malt Whiskey

Willamette Valley, USA

Clear Creek Distillery's McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt, the pioneer of Pacific Northwest craft distilling and specifically the American single malt category. Stephen McCarthy founded Clear Creek in Portland in 1985 — one of the first American craft distilleries — and was inspired by Islay Scotch malt whisky to produce a peated single malt using Oregon barley. Named for his late father Thomas B. McCarthy, this whisky is made with heavily peated Scottish-style malt and aged in Oregon white oak, producing a Pacific Northwest expression of peated whisky that reads genuinely as a single malt in the Scotch tradition.

Pairing intelligence

• casual: The Oregon Single Malt's hazelnut character is a direct echo of the state's iconic nut; salted caramel amplifies the whiskey's natural sweetness and vanilla finish.
• digestif: The tart's bourbon-pecan caramel character mirrors the single malt's own wood-derived toffee and dried fruit. Wine barrel influence adds a fruit note that bridges the pecan's toasted richness. A PNW digestif pairing of genuine local coherence.
• digestif: Clear Creek's fruit-forward character — built on PNW orchard influence — creates a natural affinity for apple's bright acidity; cinnamon and vanilla cream echo the spirit's barrel warmth.
• starter: The Oregon Single Malt's signature hazelnut character is met directly by the hazelnut velouté; black truffle deepens the whiskey's earth notes and brown butter amplifies the natural sweetness.
• digestif: Ransom's wine cask maturation imparts pear and stone fruit character that creates a direct complement to baked pear tart — the fruit compound (pear ester, ethyl hexanoate) is shared between spirit and dessert. Almond frangipane's nutty richness is managed by the spirit's moderate ABV and fruit-forward character. Caramel sauce bridges with the wine-barrel oak notes. A digestif pairing of unusual elegance.