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Has anyone tried High West Campfire?


whiskey buyer
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I have been looking at the High West Campfire. It is a blend of Bourbon Rye and scotch. I find the concept intriguing, but at the price it is not intriguing enough. So I am wondering if 

anyone has tried it, and what are your thoughts about it? 

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One of the Whisky Ambassadors for a major spirits company I've spoken to a few times rates it quite highly for what it is.  He said it won't replace his single malts or single barrels anytime soon, but is worthy of trying as one of the first products around to blend different whiskey styles.  Beam also do something similar with a peated scotch and bourbon that I quite like as a non-scotch drinker, and my scotch drinking Dad quite likes as a non-bourbon drinker.

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I would say that it is quite unique and I would recommend trying before you buy.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I'm about halfway through my 750ml.  I expect it'll last at least into the Fall of this year - a great change of pace sipper.

 

It's not an acquired taste, but I sure can tell it's not a classic bourbon-style whiskey.  After all, it's a blend of bourbon, rye, and (non-Islay but still peated) scotch.  The "campfire" smokey taste and finish from the scotch still surprises me.  It also makes it unlikely I'd use it as a bourbon substitute in cocktails.

 

As Rich said, try a taste - I have some scotch friends who like it but a few bourbon friends wrinkled their noses.  The HW website's description of it (which I just checked again halfway through typing this sentence) matches my feelings about it. 

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I'd concur with Rich & Harry.  When it was first released, I was stalking it as the whole concept blew my mind.  I tried it, and liked it well enough to buy A bottle, and am still working on it (but enjoying it).  It is a really nifty pour, and one of those "when the mood hits, not much else hits like this does".  But the mood doesn't seem to hit as often as other moods :)  I would see if you could find a bar that has it to try a pour.  

 

What about it intrigues you?  Are you a fan of scotch (and if so, your preferences on smokey/peaty malts)?  Some insight into your whiskey preferences might help others provide more specifics, but in the end - I don't think you go wrong with trying it first (unless you abhor smokey/peaty scotch, etc - which might be a "probably not worth trying too hard to try").

 

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Everything you're all saying about it mirrors what I've found with Beam's duty free exclusive 'Kentucky Dram'.  It got my attention, was interesting enough to buy a bottle or two when I was moving though airports, but is far from a daily pour.  I think it's the smokiness that grabs me, which is weird because a peated scotch would practically make be barf if I tried to drink it.   So I basically lump it in the flavored bourbon category - not an everyday thing, but a fun diversion when the mood strikes.

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Well, I find that Peaty scotches and "smokiness" overlap but there's a wide variety of them.  I doubt that they sourced Ardbeg or Laphroig, or maybe in miniscule amounts.

 

I guess the simple breakdown in my opinion is this:

 

Are you a whiskey fan in general (Irish, Scotch, Japanese, Bourbon, etc.) and appreciate that they are all different?  Or are you a strict bourbon drinker?  If it's the latter, don't buy it.  If it's the former, it's worth a bottle.

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I like bourbon, rye, and peated malt whisky, so it will likely surprise no one that I enjoy HW Campfire.  As someone who enjoys peat, I wouldn't say there is much more than a smoky hint of it in the batch of Campfire I had.  Unfortunately, experience has taught me that my tastes differ greatly from non peat enthusiasts when it comes to defining peating levels, so I'm not sure how useful I can be as a data point.

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On 7/14/2016 at 11:12 PM, garbanzobean said:

I like bourbon, rye, and peated malt whisky, so it will likely surprise no one that I enjoy HW Campfire.  As someone who enjoys peat, I wouldn't say there is much more than a smoky hint of it in the batch of Campfire I had.  Unfortunately, experience has taught me that my tastes differ greatly from non peat enthusiasts when it comes to defining peating levels, so I'm not sure how useful I can be as a data point.

I agree, Eric.  My wife loves Lagavulin, I can't handle it.  Islays?  I have no idear.  BUT, the "peat" or whatever in Campfire is more like "smokiness" to me.  It's a back flavor, not a dominant flavor, and I only get it on the finish - kind of like when I smoke a beef brisket for 12 hours then go shower then go smell it - a "new" whap to the happy place  that adds to the beef flavor rather than overwhelming it.  Like Irish whiskey and lowland Scottish blends, I can find a happy place with Campfire when I'm in the mood.

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I am still fairly new to whiskey drinking, but I am making an effort to find my nitch. I tend to like bourbon, but I have had a few scotches that I like. I have tried some of the lesser expensive scotch and enjoyed them.

I think my favorite drinks so far have been, Woodford Reserve, CEHT small batch, Jameson Irish Whiskey, and Jack Daniels Single barrel.

 

I think what interest me in the campfire is the blending of scotch with the two predominant American whiskeys or bourbon and rye.

I would like to try it, but certainly at $50.00 a bottle I am not going to buy it without trying it first.

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Whiskey Buyer - Although it is slightly off-thread to say so (because this thread is about HWCamp), I suggest you also try Compass Box Hedonism.  John Glaser created Compass Box and blends Scotch whisky for sale under the CB label.  At WhiskyFestWashDC in March, his booth was across the aisle from High West's booth where David Perkins was kind enough to allow me to taste just about everything they had.  After leaving the HW booth, I turned around to check out CB.  John suggested that, if I liked bourbon but was not thrilled with Scotch, I try Hedonism which he designed to appeal to persons slightly averse to Scotch (my words, not his).

 

I now own several bottles of both Campfire and Hedonism. 

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I tried Campfire on Saturday along with three other HW expressions. I liked the other three but couldn't get into the Campfire. It was an easy pass for me

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