Camping and cocktails? Yeah, why not?! Though we bring beer most of the time on our trips, every now and then we really crave something with a little extra kick. Lately it’s been bourbon and whiskey. We’ve compiled three of our favorite and best camping cocktails. Each of them includes 4 ingredients or less which keeps it simple when you’re on the road and space is limited.
Hot Toddy
1/4 cup boiling water
2 ounces of whiskey
1/2 of a Lemon
1 tablespoon of honey
Grab a camp cup and squeeze a half a lemon into it, using your hand as a ladle to catch the seeds. Drop the lemon carcass into the bottom and add a tablespoon of honey, as much whiskey as you’re up for, and then top it all off with boiling water. If you are feeling seasonal, add a cinnamon stick or slice of fresh ginger. This is our go-to for cold weather camping as well as when we’re feeling sick on the road.
Old Fashioned
2 ounces of bourbon
1 teaspoon of sugar (or a sugar packet or sugar cube)
2 dashes of bitters
Ice
A lot of times at camp we drink our whiskey neat, often just from the bottle. Or if it’s hot out, on the rocks (we love a big ice cube that doesn’t melt fast but ice is not something we always have access to.) When we want to get fancy, though, we make sure to have ice on hand as well as bitters and sugar. Freaked out about what a dash is? Technically it’s an 1/8 of a teaspoon. Huh? Yeah, we get it. Don’t make it too complicated. We usually measure our dashes with our tastebuds. When in doubt, add more booze.
Place the sugar in the bottom of your glass and add the bitters on top. Put a splash of water in as well, and then muddle them together until the sugar is dissolved. Gently crush the sugar granules with the back of a spoon. Fill your glass with ice and cover with bourbon. If you have any citrus on hand, a peel of orange or lemon will give a nice nose to your drink.
Whiskey Highball
2 ounces of whiskey
2 ounces of ginger ale
1 lemon slice
Ice
Tips for making these at camp
The hot toddy obviously uses hot water, but the other two are, in our opinion, better with ice. That of course means having a way to keep ice. If you’re going to be car camping, this is fairly easy. Just load up your favorite cooler and then keep it in the shade. If you’re going to be backpacking, it’s going to be a bit more challenging and you’ll have to decide whether hauling ice in a thermos is worth it or not. For those of you willing to make sacrifices because you’re in the woods, just know that they don’t taste terrible without ice! We’ve had them on several occasions like that and while it’s not our favorite, it’ll do in a pinch.
In addition, though you probably wouldn’t want to hike a whole bottle of bourbon into the backcountry because of weight considerations as well as having to pack it out again, but you could easily bring it on a weekend car camping trip.
You could also pour some contents into a lightweight flask and hike it in. If you’ve ever had a really good drink in the backcountry, you’ll know why we’d go to these lengths.
Camping Cocktails Recap
With only a couple of ingredients, these cocktails are pretty easy to make, even when you’re camping.
Have you tried any of these easy camp cocktails? If so, we’d love to know your thoughts on them! Please leave your comments below.
Oh and we’ve got your mornings covered as well! Read up on How to Make Awesome Camp Coffee.
Headed out on a camping trip soon? Be sure to check out our Campsite Do’s and Dont’s as well as our story on How to Pick a Great Campsite.
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