Reverend357
High West Campfire (Discontinued)
Blended American Whiskey — (bottled in Utah), Multiple Countries
Reviewed
December 30, 2017 (edited February 2, 2018)
Well, I tried a weird whisky yesterday, why not continue with weird stuff. The Campfire definatly qualifies as damn weird. Sweet like a bourbon, spicy like rye and smoky like a scotch. I imagine this is what some infinity bottles taste like. On the nose I get some peaches, vanilla, smoky oak spice and caramel notes. The bourbon dominates most of that. Taste starts rather sweet, caramel notes, gets spicer the longer you taste, with some peaches mixed in there, and then the peat shows up quite late. I get this strange mix of corn notes together with the typical barley notes I get from scotch. Sweet, spicy and smoky aftertaste, doesn't stay very long tho. Fruitier and smokier than a bourbon, milder than a rye, and sweeter than a scotch. Very, very interesting stuff. In my opinion with 81 grossly underrated.
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@cascode @LeeEvolved. Yeah I totally agree. Their earlier stuff was amazing, but their more recent ones have been less impressive, yet more expensive. As much I like High West,I still can’t label them a craft distillery. They don’t distill. They blend and add pretty good cask finishings.
@cascode - the only problem is that High West isn’t a craft distillery anymore. They sold out to Constellation brands in 2016. They’ve ramped up production to crazy levels and I’ve heard the product has started to suffer. The latest sample of Midwinter Night wasn’t anywhere near as good as the older batches. I haven’t tried anything else, though, but I know prices are up. I hope it isn’t a “price up, quality down” across the board.
Just opened a bottle. Campfire? I woulda named it scrap metal art. I don't know how I feel yet, but I am intrigued. My review is probably a few months out.
I'm about a quarter of the war through my first bottle and just can't figure it out enough to give it a fair review.
I don’t think we get this in the colonies :-) pity, as it sounds interesting at the very least. I admire what craft distillers and finishers are doing nowadays. This is to be encouraged!
I want to taste this next. Saw it at a bar for $24 for 2oz and passed. Think I’ll just buy the bottle after your review. High West is blowing me away. Nice comparison to an infinity bottle.
Thanks guys! Yeah, this one really devides the opinions. But then again, that's usually how it works when someone tries new stuff. I give High West credit for having the balls actually produce this thing, because that could have gone wrong rather easily. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. Also, it kinda makes me want to try my own little blend....Knob Creek with a dash of Ardbeg sounds like a start.
It's one of those like-it or not-like it things. No middle ground
Great review. I seem to remember this one being exactly like they described it to be: a chance to get bourbon, rye whiskey and scotch all in one sip. I also seem to recall I didn’t think that it worked that well. I got all 3 ingredients- I just didn’t think they played well together. If I see this one when I’m out bar hopping though, I think I’ll give it another go. It’s been awhile.
You put into words what I simply could not. And nailed it. Perfect .