10 Backcountry Cocktails You Can Make in the Wilderness

When you’re packing for a backpacking or camping trip, some food items are just too heavy to justify schlepping around. When’s the last time you saw somebody whip out a watermelon at camp? But, if you enjoy a cocktail after a hard day of hiking, a heavy liquor bottle or two might just be worth it. Still, you’ll want to keep the ingredients simple and experiment with what you can make using common backpacking supplies (sports drinks, powders) and what you can (safely!) forage in your surroundings. After all  perfectly blended, snowbank-chilled cocktail can be the difference between an excellent day on the trail and a transcendent day on the trail. In that spirit, here are 10 favorite backcountry cocktail concoctions from the team at Backpacker.

Backcountry Cocktails You Can Make in the Wilderness

1. Mountain Margarita
Lemon-Lime Gatorade + tequila + fresh snow

2. Watermelon Snowfield
Fruit punch sports drink + Bacardi 151 rum + snow + maraschino cherry

3. Bikini Sunburn
Vodka + light rum + cherry sours + juice of half a fresh lemon + sugar

4. Mountain Storm Cosmo
Lime juice + cranberry juice concentrate + triple sec + vodka + lime Kool-Aid powder + hailstones

5. Snake in the Grass
Lemon-Lime Gatorade + vodka + green creme de menthe

6. Blackberry Margarita
Fresh-picked berries + snow + tequila

7. Backcountry Mai Tai
Tang + snow + dark rum

8. Goodnight Kiss
Good Earth tea + scotch

9. Wilderness White Russian
Kahlua + vodka + milk (use dry whole milk powder)

10. Under the Sleeping Bag
Light rum + triple sec + brandy + lemon juice

With thanks to editors Jon Dorn, Shannon Davis, Steve Howe, & Kristin Hostetter; realcampingworld.co.uk.

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