Clear Creek Distillery

Stephen McCarthy’s specialized line of libation gives him great job security. Hobbyists can simply purchase kits to make wine or beer in their basement or garage. That’s relatively cheap. But Stephen relies on traditional German pot stills to make his fermented drink—fruit brandy, also known as eau-de-vie (more than one, eaux-de-vie). The equipment needed to produce eau-de-vie from local fruit requires relatively deep pockets. The necessary equipment and facilities are costly, and the fruit required also demands a sizable bank account. Twenty-eight pounds of pears are needed to make just one bottle of Stephen’s signature pear brandy! Small wonder that there are just a handful of artisan brandy producers on the West Coast.

In his earlier days, Stephen spent considerable time in Europe. It was there, on a bike ride through the countryside of France, that he noticed bottles tied to the branches of pear and apple trees. The fruit itself was growing inside the bottles. Being from an Oregon family with 100 years of orchard experience, Stephen immediately knew its purpose — brandy.

For more than 20 years, Clear Creek Distillery has been evolving its product line of fruit brandies, grappas (made from leftover fruit skins and seeds), liqueurs, and single-malt whiskeys. In addition to pear and apple brandies, visitors can also sample Clear Creek’s cherry, raspberry, plum, and, in what has to be a first, Douglas fir brandies. (Just for the experience, you should try the Douglas fir brandy, a true tree spirit made with an infusion of springtime Douglas fir buds.) Clear Creek also features a full lineup of fruit-flavored liqueurs made from local fruit, including blackberry, loganberry, cassis, cherry, pear, and raspberry. However, ever since getting great press in the 2004 edition of The Whiskey Bible, it’s Stephen’s Oregon Single Malt Whiskey that has been the big hit, particularly among whiskey aficionados.

Still, it’s the eaux-de-vie that are Stephen’s main love and his focus, especially the pear brandy made from local Bartlett pears. Each year, the staff of Clear Creek Distillery hangs bottles on the branches of pear and apple trees, manages their growth, harvests and cleans the bottles, and finally fills and labels them. Phew! The resulting Pear-in-the-Bottle is Clear Creek Distillery’s signature beverage, and we have Stephen to thank for taking that bicycle trip in the French countryside in his younger days.