Camping allows you to take a break from the trappings of modern life. It will enable you to connect with nature, get some fresh air, and live a simpler life for a stretch of time.
Camping means you’ll have to sacrifice a lot of everyday home comforts, but that’s not to say you can’t bring along a slice of urban life with you!
This is where camping cocktails come in! In short, a camping cocktail is a cocktail suitable for taking out into the wilderness with you.
But what are some of the best camping cocktails for you to take on your next trip? Cocktails often consist of multiple ingredients, so you’ll need to plan ahead if you want to get them right!
In this article, we’re going to give you a list of the 15 best camping cocktails.
We’ve separated them into a few different sections, from simple to complex, and we’ve also made sure to include a short FAQ section at the end of this article.
Best Simple Cocktails
1. Camping Sangria Recipe
Sangria is a cocktail that originated in Spain and Portugal. It features red wine, chopped fruit, and added spirits, making it a fruity, perfect drink for a hot summer’s day—especially when camping!
This recipe here includes some additional ingredients including Fruit (of your choice), vodka, peach nectar, lemonade concentrate, sugar, wine, and soda!
Follow the steps, mix them together, and you’ll have a gorgeous drink for you and your companions!
2. Refreshing Camp Mojito
This tasty drink features a few simple ingredients, and you can make it in a few moments with simple camping equipment.
All you need is two limes, a few sprigs of fresh mint (this may seem overboard, but it does everything for taste), soda water, syrup, and some white rum.
Although the recipe we’ve linked features the ‘mocktail’ version of this drink, all you need to do is bring some rum along and add a shot or two.
3. Sonoran Sunset Sensation
Next up we have Sonoran Sunset Sensations. This is a perfect drink to enjoy with pals while watching the sun go down.
Gather Malibu Coconut rum, pineapple juice, cranberry juice, and some ice to create an incredible cocktail that’s as soothing as it is tasty!
4. Easy S’mores Campfire Cocktail Recipe
Looking for something that will fit a classic camping weekend, but won’t cause you too much trouble to make?
This s’mores cocktail is one of the most fitting drinks we could find and can be enjoyed around a cocktail.
It’s a little more complicated to make than the first few on our list, combining vanilla vodka, almond milk, Irish cream liqueur (we recommend Bailey’s,) 1 tbsp of hot chocolate, crushed graham crackers, chocolate sauce, and marshmallows.
5. Tequila & Blackberry Limeade Camping Cocktail
Next up we have a simple combination of limeade and tequila. You can use either white or silver tequila as the alcoholic base, but we’d recommend silver for its extra flavor.
You’ll also need to bring along some fresh blackberries which you can use for garnish alongside a few sliced limes.
6. Moscow Mule
This is a good cocktail for a stormy night, huddling in your tent from the elements. Usually served in a copper mug, it includes ice, a lime to slice up, vodka, and a healthy dose of ginger beer.
If you do happen to own some copper mugs we’d recommend bringing them along, as they can really add to the flavor!
7. Jolly ‘Ole Christmas Cocktail
Going camping over the holidays? If this is the case, then check out this Christmas cocktail.
In order to create this cocktail you’ll need cranberry juice, fresh lime and mint, club soda, cranberry mint syrup and vodka.
You can also swap the vodka out for gin, whisky, white rum, or tequila if vodka isn’t your thing!
Best Advanced Cocktails
8. Long Island Iced Tea
If you want a cocktail with a bit of a heavier kick, then this concoction is going to do wonders for you! Long Island Iced Tea tastes great despite its heavy reliance on different types of alcohol.
Mix vodka, gin, tequila, rum, and triple sec with lime, cola, and ice to get a taste of this classic cocktail! It’s a great one for warm summer evenings out with your friends!
9. Old Fashioned
Looking for another classic cocktail to break out when camping? This orange and delicious drink is a combination of sugar syrup, Angostura bitters, water, whisky, orange slices, and a maraschino cherry.
It does require you to bring along a few extra ingredients, but you can keep them in your cooler and break them out when the time is right!
10. Dry Martini
If gin is your thing, then this might be the right cocktail for you! The ‘dry’ part of this cocktail comes from its inclusion of dry vermouth.
When this is combined with bitters and gin, you’ll have a refreshing cocktail that is traditionally served in a tall glass.
You might not be able to bring the tall glass along with you when you’re camping, but it tastes just the same no matter what it’s served in.
11. Daiquiri
Next up, we have the simple but sweet Daiquiri. It was invented at the turn of the 19th century and quickly spread in popularity.
It features a simple list of ingredients but can be difficult to do right!
This is a cocktail that requires an artisan touch to create something perfect. Combine light rum, lime juice, demerara sugar syrup, and lime for garnish!
12. Sweet Manhattan
Want to bring a taste of the New York skyline to your private spot in the wilderness? If so, check out this recipe for a super-sweet Manhattan.
It includes bourbon whiskey, martini rosso sweet vermouth, angostura aromatic bitters as well as an orange zest twist and cherry to serve.
It’s an incredible cocktail to take with you if you’re looking for something sweet and alcoholic.
13. Bourbon Old Fashioned Recipe
Next up we have a slightly less common cocktail that is perfect for a hot summer’s day when out camping.
The mix of orange slices, cherries, sugar, bourbon, and club soda makes this a simple way to create something incredible.
The difficulty in this cocktail comes from properly dissolving the sugar and garnishing to a delicious, refreshing finish!
Best Refreshing Cocktails
14. Cape Cod (Vodka Cranberry)
Next up we have a refreshing, easy-to-make cocktail that is perfect to bring along on your camping adventure.
With three simple ingredients–vodka, cranberry juice, and a lime wedge for garnish—you can make this in any container you have available.
15. Watermelon Daiquiri
This is another amazing summer cocktail that is great to share with friends. It’s not that different from the traditional Daquiri we linked above, featuring watermelon liquer for added flavor.
Combine white rum, a little lime juice, and liquer as well as a wedge of watermelon. This is a great one as you will also have an entire watermelon to enjoy throughout the rest of your camping trip!
Conclusion
So that was our list of the 15 best camping cocktails we could find. We wanted to include a mixture of classic cocktails, as well as some that have been created specifically for camping scenarios.
A lot of what makes a cocktail great is presentation, but it can be difficult to do this with minimal ingredients and serving classes.
However, you should know that for the most part, glasses make no difference in the overall taste of a cocktail.
We hope that this guide has given you some ideas for cocktails you can make out on your next camping trip.
Always remember to check the ingredients list of the one you choose, as small flavors can make a big difference when it comes to the final result!
Frequently Asked Questions
Some people choose to make cocktails in advance before they go out camping. This can be a great way to work with more complicated ingredients before your options are limited.
Generally, you can keep cocktails in a refrigerated jug for a few days—but this can depend on whether or not you’re using fresh fruit.
If you’ve come across a cocktail recipe that includes ice, you might be wondering how important this is for the overall taste. For some cocktails, ice is essential, and for others, it simply improves the quality of the drink.
We’d generally suggest straying away from cocktails that feature ice if you’re going camping—that is, if you don’t have any way of accessing ice without it melting!
There are specific glasses you can buy to drink while out camping. We’d suggest using plastic cups if you can find them, as glass can cause easily get smashed when out in the wild.
Copper mugs also work great and are even the preferred container for serving certain cocktails even in bars.
15 Best Camping Cocktails
Searching for the best cocktails to have when camping? Click here for a total guide
Ingredients
Directions
- Pick a recipe from the list above
- Click the recipe name and visit the website
- Collect the ingredients and cook the food
- Enjoy – don’t forget to leave a review
Recipe Video
Cooking is great for your mental, physical, and emotional health. What’s the worst that could happen? Find a recipe that you like the sound of and cook it along with me. You might even unlock a new passion!
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