While it’s tough to beat a day spent floating on an inner tube on a lake or lazy river, or an afternoon playing bocce or corn hole, few activities are more entrenched in summer lore and nostalgia than the evening campfire. Whether it’s in your backyard or the finale of a week of hiking and camping, a campfire is the perfect end to a great summer day.
If there’s a slight chill in the air, it can be warming and comforting. If you stocked up on marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate bars, it’s the perfect way to get a delicious dessert. It’s also great for deep conversations, spooky stories, and summer relaxation. What makes a summer campfire even better? Pairing it with a nice glass of whiskey.
One of the best things about sipping whiskey next to a roaring campfire is that there’s no set definition about which bottle pairs best with the experience. Would you like to add to the smoke with a peat-smoked single malt Scotch whisky? Go ahead. Do you want to mellow out with some sweet, vanilla, and caramel-inflected bourbon? Have at it. How about a slightly spicy, peppery rye to add even more warmth to the experience? You do you.
Since we’d rather you have more time to pile up wood and kindling in your backyard fire pit, we decided to do the curating for you. Here are 18 great whiskeys that are perfect for sipping around a campfire. From single malt Scotch whisky, to bourbon, to Irish whiskey, to rye, there’s a bottle here for every palate.
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1. Michter’s US-1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon
This popular, small-batch bourbon takes the term very seriously. Matured in new, charred American oak casks, it’s batched in a holding tank that fits no more than 20 barrels at a time. The result is a sublimely mellow sipping whiskey. There are notes of toasted vanilla beans, rich oak, buttery caramel, slight fruit, and just a kiss of gentle smoke. It only adds to the campfire experience.
