High West Campfire

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• DISTILLERY – High West Distillery
• REGION – Park City, Utah
• AGE – Around 5-8 years (NAS)
• STRENGTH – 46% (92 proof)
• MASH BILL – A blend of bourbon, rye whiskey sourced from MGP and the Scotch is a peated blended malt with undisclosed source.
• MSRP – Around $50 – 80

GLANCE

Has a nice rich honey glaze color to it, with generally low viscosity. Doesn’t appear to be too oily.

NOSE

On the nose there was fair bit of notes to pick on. I got pine, evergreen, sugar cane, floral notes, and you can smell the light peatiness from the scotch right away. I also got notes of peaches, raisins and generally speaking the whisky smelled on the younger side. I didn’t get too much nuttiness or traditional bourbon/whiskey oak notes.

TASTE

To analyze the palate here, it took me pretty much the whole dram to get all the notes out. The mouthfeel is light, smooth and dry/powerful towards the end. It is spice forward tasting with the peatiness of the scotch coming in right away. The spiciness then gives way to a nice mellow mouthfeel with slight brown sugar and stoned fruit. Notes of honey and dark chocolate are sprinkled throughout the palate as it passes over your tongue.

FINISH

The finish was towards the long end and I got baking spices such as cinammon, and then slight caramel. The hug is of medium warmth.

CLOSING REMARKS

I am always intrigued by High West products. In an industry which leans on multiple generation old techniques for distilling and aging bourbons/whiskey, High West aims to push the envelope. High West’s founders David and Jane Perkins were at the Bruichladdich distillery, which is a distillery on the Rhinns of the isle of Islay in Scotland. They produce four main unique spirits and were served a dish, which was melon drizzled with syrup made from sugar and peated scotch. This combination of sweetness and smoke inspired them with the idea of blending peated scotch with sweet bourbon. Adding the rye which High West does well, adds to the complexity and bold flavors of Campfire.

Its definitely made for the connoisseur as it commands your attention, and in my opinion can’t be something you can drink in a large social setting. Having said that, and understanding the idea behind the whiskey it’s a fun challenge to pull all the notes out. After finishing the dram, I think they really captured the campfire smell along with the sweetness that comes from s’mores. A great bottle at $50 to expand your palate! Cheers 🙂

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