Steve McCarthy started Clear Creek Distillery twenty-six years ago because he wanted to find the best use for the fruit from the McCarthy family's orchard. During his travels in Europe he became acquainted with a number of traditional European spirits, among them an eau de vie made from Williams Pear. Steve knew that with the wonderful fruit we grow in the Pacific Northwest he could make brandy just as good as that he had tried in Europe; that is the origin of Clear Creek Distillery. The name Clear Creek comes from the creek that runs through the pear orchard in Parkdale, Oregon.