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Fourteen years into her career at Clear Creek in Hood River, Oregon, Caitlin Bartlemay recently became master distiller at the respected craft producer. There, she continues to lead a small, hands-on team through seasons of distilling an array of whole-fruit brandies as well as McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt—the first American craft single-malt whiskey.
In this week’s episode, Bartlemay joins host Molly Troupe for a wide-ranging discussion that includes:
- managing public expectations around the master distiller role
- the impact of Prohibition on smaller family-run distilleries
- the significant challenge in making great fruit brandies
- managing the logistics of whole-fruit fermentations
- the impact of tank time and cask residence on various brandies
- mash consistency’s effects on fermentation and distillation
- distilling American single-malt on a single-pass hybrid brandy still
- aging spirits in Oregon oak casks
And more.
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