Clear Creek Raspberry

[Fritdjof]

This sounds ridiculously good to me, but I'm a little sissypants-ish about dropping fifty bucks for 375 ml. Has anyone here tried it?

[eje]

I haven't had this particular Eau de Vie.

It does sound quite lovely.

The thing to remember, though, about Eau de Vie, is that they are unaged fruit brandies.

At their best they capture the perfume of the fresh fruit they are fermented from.

But, once you swallow, they can taste and feel a bit more like grappa.

If you don't know you like them, you might want to try one out at a nice restaurant, or experiment by buying one of the nicer Kirsch (Cherry Eau de Vie), as they tend to be a bit less expensive.

[cocktailgeek]

This sounds ridiculously good to me, but I'm a little sissypants-ish about dropping fifty bucks for 375 ml. Has anyone here tried it?

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I'm not sure which you are referring to, the Clear Creek Framboise Eau de Vie, or the Clear Creek Raspberry liqueur. On the website, the eau de vie is listed for $24.95 and the liqueur for $21.95 (both for the 375 ml.).

http://www.clearcreekdistillery.com

Sorry, just figured out your source: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/paci...2005/taste.html

And I got the price wrong on the eau de vie. It is around $50. I musta been looking at the Kirsch Sorry.

Edited August 9, 2007 by cocktailgeek (log)

[russ parsons]

clear creek is an absolutely incredible producer. they make terrific stuff. i remember visiting them many years ago and the guy had perfected an eau de vie that was made from the tips of spruce branches, the new growth. even that was delicious. i always have a bottle or two of clear creek eaux de vie in my freezer--it lasts forever.

[MattJohnson]

I read about that brandy when I was going to Oregon. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to try it, but I recall that they only make the raspberry when the year's fruit is good and it takes an LOT of berries to make the brandy, hence the price.

[eje]

Oh, I should say, I've had the Clear Creek Pear and Blue Plum Eau de Vie and quite enjoyed both.

Clear Creek is certainly somewhere among the top commercial producers of fruit brandies in the US.

[eas]

i always have a bottle or two of clear creek eaux de vie in my freezer--it lasts forever.

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Storage preference aside, a fine eaux-de-vie should never be served ice cold. If you find you don't enjoy the burn certain styles of eaux-de-vie provide, consider switching to an alternate style of eaux-de-vie.

[Cole Danehower]

Steve McCarthy does a tremendous job with all his products, in my opinion. His Framboise is a particular favorite, and I hoard what little is left in my bottle. Last year Steve toured our office around his facility (it is in walking distance . . . and waaay too tempting . . .) and the craft, precision, and care he puts into his products is evident. It is very true that the Framboise is not always available--depends on the crop--and while it is spendy, it is also lovely.

I also like his Douglas Fir eau de vie very much (mentioned by russ parsons), though it may not be to everyone's taste. We ran an article last year about how the Fir buds are hand-picked into buckets of spirit right there in the forest on McCarthy's land . . .

One other note. Here in Portland there is a concentration of craft distilleries (of which Clear Creek is the founding spirit, if you will), and there is a growing trend here toward spirit/food pairing and cocktail/food pairing in the same manner as wine/food pairing. I happen to find this organoleptically fascinating, but McCarthy doesn't agree. He feels his eaux de vie are for enjoying before or after a meal strictly by themselves, not as an integrated part of the meal. The Douglas Fir, for instance, makes a wonderful digestif . . . as does the framboise, come to think of it!

[Ktepi]

Has anyone had Clear Creek's whiskey? None of their products are carried here (in fact, this thread made me realize that the NH liquor stores do not appear to carry any eau de vie), but I have a friend in Portland who's going to pick up a few of their items for me in the fall.

[cocktailgeek]

Has anyone had Clear Creek's whiskey?  None of their products are carried here (in fact, this thread made me realize that the NH liquor stores do not appear to carry any eau de vie), but I have a friend in Portland who's going to pick up a few of their items for me in the fall.

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As they state on their website, it's VERY peaty. The peated malt is brought over from Scotland and made into a mash by Widmer. They compare it to Lagavulin, but I think it is more like a young Laphroaig. It IS only 3 years old...

[Cole Danehower]

If anyone is interested, Clear Creek is the subject of the New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov's most recent blog posting, here:

NYTimes Clear Creek Blog Posting

[cocktailgeek]

If anyone is interested, Clear Creek is the subject of the New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov's most recent blog posting, here:

NYTimes Clear Creek Blog Posting

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When I lived in Oregon, it seemed as if there was never enough of the Clear Creek Pear Eau de Vie with the pear inside. The explanation offered was that the rednecks in eastern Oregon near the orchards thought it great sport to shoot the bottles off the trees from their pickup trucks...

[Scotttos]

Anyone able to find a good source for Clear Creek products (especially the douglas fir!) in NYC?

Pegu's Douglas Fir Gimlet is outstanding....to be able to create that at home?...I could have never dreamed it so....

edit: scratch the above, looks like park ave. is the place to go. sorry for the clutter.

Edited August 24, 2007 by Scotttos (log)

[Roddy]

My experience with eau de vies, or schnapps as the term is really used aside from its stateside bastardization, is fairly limited to kirsh and pear williams that I've had while traveling in Europe. However, my wife got me a bottle of the Clear Creek Framboise for Christmas. I love it; the fruit aroma is unbelievable. It's definitely hot going down, but it seems that's what schapps are all about. I would love to hear thoughts on serving. I've tried it neat at room temperature and leaving the bottle to chill in the freezer for a couple of days. I liked the room temperature better; is there something I'm missing?

[vice]

I would love to hear thoughts on serving. I've tried it neat at room temperature and leaving the bottle to chill in the freezer for a couple of days. I liked the room temperature better; is there something I'm missing?

I don't think so. As Erik and Eric intimated upthread (eje and eas, respectively), the big attraction of eaux-de-vie is the the way they capture the aroma of a fruit. As aromas are considerably diminished at freezer temperature, serving an eau-de-vie ice cold is not advised.

[bostonapothecary]

I would love to hear thoughts on serving. I've tried it neat at room temperature and leaving the bottle to chill in the freezer for a couple of days. I liked the room temperature better; is there something I'm missing?

I don't think so. As Erik and Eric intimated upthread (eje and eas, respectively), the big attraction of eaux-de-vie is the the way they capture the aroma of a fruit. As aromas are considerably diminished at freezer temperature, serving an eau-de-vie ice cold is not advised.

most respectful of aroma is really stuff like pineau des charentes, pommeau, and fruit liqueurs that are fortified with an eau de vie of the same fruit (certain framboise like bonny doon's pacific rim bottling)

the commonality here is that there are less barriers to the perception of aroma. high alcohol is a distraction. so is extremes temperature.

thats all in theory of course. in practice the emotional aspect of the alcohol is often more fun than the aroma. and the tension between the two is often awesome as well.