High West Campfire

High West Campfire is a blend of three whiskeys: a straight bourbon, a straight rye, and a blended malt Scotch whisky. The two American components are distilled at MGP in Indiana. The bourbon has a mash bill of 71% corn, 21% rye and 4% barley malt. The rye is 95% rye and 5% malted barley. The Scotch component comes from an undisclosed source. The whiskeys range from about 5 to 8 years old. It's bottled in Utah at 46% ABV, a little above the usual 40%. The name points to smoke, and the Scotch is the likely reason. Expect a light peat character beside the corn sweetness and oak you'd get from the bourbon. The 95% rye adds the peppery, herbal bite typical of high-rye whiskey. This is a style judgment, not a measured profile, so nose it before pouring a lot. In blends like this the smoke usually sits in the background and the rye spice carries the finish. For neat sipping, a Glencairn glass is the better choice. Its narrow mouth gathers the smoke and spice so you can pick out which part comes from the bourbon and which from the malt. At 46%, the whiskey takes a few drops of room-temperature water well. That tends to loosen the grain and sweetness and take some heat off the rye. A single large cube in a rocks glass is also a reasonable way to drink it. It cools and slowly dilutes the whiskey without flattening the smoke, which a lot of small cubes tend to do. In cocktails, a Manhattan is probably the best use. The rye backbone holds up against sweet vermouth, and the smoky edge adds interest without hiding the vermouth. An Old Fashioned made with a sugar cube, two dashes of Angostura and an orange peel works well too. Keep the sugar light so the smoke stays audible. In a Whiskey Sour, the smoke gives the citrus a darker, drier edge than a plain bourbon would. For a highball, pour over plenty of ice, top with cold soda at about three parts soda to one part whiskey, and finish with a lemon peel. The carbonation lifts the spice while the smoke stays quiet underneath.