WhistlePig CampStock Wheat Whiskey features a blend of the company’s “grain-to-glass Rye” and a sourced wheat whiskey that was then finished in barrels that were toasted using a “smokeless” Solo Stove. According to the company, the whiskey was designed to feature an “easy-drinking profile for warm weather adventures and long summer nights.” WhistlePig CampStock Wheat Whiskey is a limited time release.

A soft and gentle aroma that consists of sandalwood, light smoke, nutmeg, and honey graham cracker as its main scent drivers. Toasted oak is layered in, creating an aroma that is considerably cohesive. It’s pleasant and satisfying, favoring finely-tuned subtlety over big overpowering scents.

A thin to medium mouthfeel carries a noticeable sweet taste to it. Candy corn, Frosted Flakes cereal, honey, and caramel form the backbone of the palate with a shade of what tastes similar to toasted oak, but isn't also present throughout. Like the nose, the flavors meld well together creating a very cohesive midpoint. It makes up for its lack of complexity and depth with an accessible flavor profile that few will take issue with.

A light mix of toasted and charred oak makes up a good portion of the finish. A touch of cinnamon, rye spice, and citrus add further dimension. It comes together well, but there is not a lot to make it memorable besides its toasted oak adjacent flavor. Like the rest of the sip, the finish is approachable, making for a gentle sipper that is easy to parse.

Branding collaborations are becoming more common in the world of American whiskey. Outside of celebrity collabs, we’ve seen Woodford Reserve partner with the Kentucky Derby, Old Forester with the Statesman movie, and more recently, Elijah Craig partner with the PGA, and Blue Note with Major League Pickleball.

WhistlePig isn’t new to this kind of collaborative marketing, as they quietly have done a number of them for their website over the years, including “Big Papi,” a rye finished in maple wood baseball bats used by Boston Red Sox slugger, David Ortiz. It’s clear the WhistlePig brain trust has a sense of humor and creative minds to come up with such outlandish marketing ideas.

That’s why WhistlePig teaming up with Solo Stove isn’t as odd as it probably sounds. Taking Solo Stove’s product feature of a smokeless fire and applying that to toasting barrel staves with a smokeless fire, is pretty darn creative, even if it's still a little silly. The bigger impact on this whiskey is probably its blend of wheat and rye whiskeys. It’s a marriage that isn’t seen very often, and given that the rye is distilled by WhistlePig themselves, gives it their trademark lightness and honey flavor. Combining that with the “smokeless toasting” of the barrels results in a surprisingly cohesive and approachable sip. There’s nothing out of left field flavorwise, but taking all of its aforementioned elements into account results in a whiskey that stands out because of it.

As with any brand collaboration, there is usually a price premium associated with the resulting product, which holds true for CampStock. This shouldn’t be surprising though, as Solo Stove in and of itself carriers a premium price tag on all of its products. Factor in the additional unique toasting method this release implores, and its amazing bespoke label featuring the WhistlePig mascot roasting a marshmallow over the company’s brand name. It also features a blend that isn’t standard for the company, adding another layer of value to help justify the price.

Yet, with this release, a lot of it comes down to whether you’re a fan of the Solo Stove brand. The whiskey itself is enjoyable, and its flavor profile is extremely cohesive, but combined with its proof, its overall value comes across as a tad soft. Given the unique branding involved, it's unclear if many stores will be willing to stock it, which leaves many to have to purchase it directly from WhistlePig or Solo Stove’s website (with potential shipping charges). It's a satisfying average pour, but at $75, it's hard to fully justify it at that price without placing most of the emphasis on its unusual curation and fun brand tie-in.

People that own a Solo Stove are typically passionate about it, so this release will likely fall into the impulse/guilty pleasure purchase for this consumer group. Even without knowing the exact details of this release, everyone I've mentioned CampStock to who is a Solo Stove owner, says they will purchase it. In a way this release is critic-proof for that group of people.

For the rest of us, does CampStock offer enough to fully justify a purchase? This whiskey is a people-pleaser and is successful in accomplishing the direction WhistlePig set out with it. It goes for a light mouthfeel that makes it approachable and easy to identify its flavors. Its proof is on the low side, which makes it inherently more appealing to non-diehard whiskey drinkers in the same way Basil Hayden is designed for. That’s not a bad thing, as accessibility is always welcomed in American whiskey, but if you decide to sit this one out, you don’t have to fear missing anything revolutionary. WhistlePig knows how to have fun with their releases (like their decanter release shaped like a piggy-bank), and the whimsical and light-hearted side of American whiskey is likely due for an expansion. There is of course a cost to having fun, but if you’re looking for a light and brisk summertime whiskey, then CampStock will satisfy that craving.