For a good cocktail at the campsite, you need very little equipment, very little ice, and very few fresh ingredients. Choose drinks that you can make in a glass or shake in a jam jar, such as a gin and tonic, Aperol Spritz, Cape Codder, or Piña Colada. Prepare the base at home in advance and keep everything cool in a properly pre-chilled cooler. If you don't want to mix at all, bring pre-mixed cocktails: open, pour over ice, and you're ready to enjoy by the tent.
In short
- Choose simple recipes with two or three ingredients that you can make directly in the glass: gin and tonic, spritz, Cape Codder, or a camping version of the Daiquiri.
- A jam jar is your shaker and a small glass your measuring cup. You don't need any more bar equipment.
- Prepare at home: mix the strong base in advance, but only add ice, bubbles, and fresh citrus at the campsite.
- Cool smartly: turn on your cooler at least eight hours in advance, fill it with chilled products, and place it in the shade.
- Think of everyone: bring an alcohol-free pitcher, have water ready, and don't drive after drinking.
Table of contents
- What makes a cocktail suitable for camping?
- Six easy cocktails for camping
- Making cocktails without a shaker or bar set
- Preparing at home: the premix
- Transporting cool and safely
- Alcohol-free cocktails for camping
- Serving responsibly with little waste
- Our view on cocktails at the campsite
- Bringing pre-mixed cocktails to the campsite
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
What makes a cocktail suitable for camping?
At the campsite, you don't have a bar, a freezer full of ice, and usually only a small work surface: the lid of the cooler or a folding table. A camping cocktail must therefore be able to withstand a beating. Pay attention to four things.
Few ingredients. Every extra bottle takes up space in your cooler or trunk. Recipes with two to four components work best, especially if they share ingredients. With a bottle of vodka, cranberry juice, and a few lemons, you can make several different drinks. The advice to bring ingredients with overlap saves space and hassle.
Making it in the glass instead of shaking. Many classics are made directly in the glass: pour in the spirit, top with soda or bubbles, stir, and you're done. Only cocktails with a lot of citrus benefit from a good shake, because shaking better mixes spirits, sweetener, and citrus.
Resistant to heat. Not everything stays tasty if it sits in the sun for an afternoon. Cocktails based on brown spirits, such as an Old Fashioned or Manhattan, also taste good without refrigeration, according to Epicurious. Fresh citrus and dairy are less suitable for a warm campsite.
No breakable glassware. A sturdy cup, mug, or tumbler is perfectly fine at the campsite. Such a camping cup is also sufficient to serve a cocktail nicely, provided you add a garnish.
Six easy cocktails for camping
These recipes work with minimal equipment. The quantities are per glass, unless otherwise stated.
| Cocktail | What you need | How to make it | Ice needed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gin and tonic | 1 part gin, 3 parts tonic, lemon or lime slice | Pour into the glass and stir briefly | Yes, or frozen fruit |
| Aperol Spritz | 3 parts prosecco, 2 parts Aperol, 1 part sparkling water | Pour into the glass, add an orange slice | Yes |
| Cape Codder | 120 ml cranberry juice, 80 ml vodka, lemon | Mix in the glass | Nice, not mandatory |
| Camping Daiquiri | Rum, sugar, half a lemon, 25 ml water | Mix everything in the glass | Not mandatory |
| Piña Colada | 60 ml white rum, 60 ml pineapple juice, 40 ml coconut juice | Mix without a shaker | Yes |
| Caipirinha | 50 ml cachaça, 1 lime, 3 teaspoons cane sugar | Muddle lime and sugar in the glass | Crushed ice |
The ratios for the gin and tonic and Aperol Spritz are easy to remember, even after a day of walking. The Cape Codder and the Daiquiri in this form come from a list of cocktails for a camping session by FHM, where the Daiquiri is made in the glass without a shaker. For the Piña Colada and Caipirinha, Campstar camping recipes provide fixed quantities.
For cold evenings: something warm
A camping evening in the Netherlands can get chilly, even in July. Then a Hot Toddy works well: bourbon with hot water, honey or sugar, and a lemon slice. Or make hot chocolate and add a splash of rum, cognac, or whisky. Both are also in the FHM overview and require no more than a small pot on your camping stove.
A camping mojito without a muddler
For a simple mojito, you need white rum, sparkling water, mint, and lime. You can leave the muddler at home: clap the mint leaves between your hands, then the aroma is released without damaging the leaves. For those looking for the classic version, more ideas can be found in our summer cocktail recipes for every party.
Making cocktails without a shaker or bar set
You don't need to pack a complete bar set. These substitutes will get you a long way:
- Jam jar as a shaker. A clean jam jar with a tightly fitting lid does the same job as a shaker. Fill it with ice and ingredients, screw the lid on tightly, and shake for ten to fifteen seconds.
- Shot glass as a measuring cup. With a regular shot glass, your ratios remain consistent, so the second round tastes just like the first.
- Long spoon or cocktail stick for stirring. For cocktails that you make in the glass, such as a gin and tonic or spritz, stirring is enough.
- Inverting the bottle. A well-sealed bottle with a premix can be gently inverted a few times to mix everything, as long as it doesn't contain egg or cream.
- Tea towel as a strainer. For those who want to keep fruit seeds or mint out of the glass.
If you are already cooking at the campsite with simple equipment, tips about cooking during a self-catering stay will help you plan your drinks smartly too. If you are traveling in a camper, check beforehand what is in the kitchen of a camper: a small refrigerator, a gas stove, and a few glasses make mixing a lot easier.
No desire to measure and shake? In our piece about enjoying a cocktail without a recipe, you can read how to skip that entirely.
Preparing at home: the premix
The smartest camping cocktail is made before departure. This way, you need fewer bottles at the campsite and don't have to measure.
What you mix in advance. The spirit and any syrup or liqueur. For a Cape Codder, for example, mix vodka and cranberry juice in the right ratio in a sealable bottle. For a larger quantity of Old Fashioned, mix whisky, sugar syrup, and a few drops of bitters.
What you add only at the campsite. Ice, bubbles, and fresh citrus. Sparkling water, tonic, and prosecco lose their fizz in a bottle that is opened repeatedly. Freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice becomes flat or bitter more quickly in a premix, especially in the heat. So bring whole lemons and limes and squeeze them on site.
Dilute with water. A cocktail without ice is often too strong. At Epicurious, the author dilutes strong premixes with about 25 percent water, because otherwise that dilution would come from melting ice. Taste at home and adjust to taste.
Frozen fruit as ice. Freeze grapes, lemon slices, or pineapple pieces. They cool your drink, do not water it down, and are immediately your garnish. Frozen fruit also cools your cooler during the journey.
For a larger group at a group campsite, the same approach works as for a day at the beach. In our batchable cocktails for a beach day, you can read which recipes are best suited for preparation and how to keep them cold.
Transporting cool and safely
A lukewarm cocktail is a shame, but ingredients such as juices and coconut milk can also spoil in the heat. A good cooler is therefore your most important camping equipment.
- Pre-cooling. Turn on an electric cooler at least eight hours in advance and fill it only with products that are already cold. According to the same test, you store food at a maximum of 7 °C and preferably at 4 °C.
- In the shade. Place the cooler under the awning or in the tent, never in the full sun or in a hot car.
- Full is better. A full cooler stays cold longer than a half-empty one. Fill gaps with frozen water bottles; you can simply drink them later.
- Open little. Place what you grab often on top, so the lid is open briefly.
- Light packaging. Leave heavy glass bottles at home as much as possible and bring your premix in a light, well-sealable bottle.
If you are going to a festival campsite, read the regulations beforehand. Many organizations ban glass on the grounds and enforce a maximum for the amount of alcohol you may bring. Those rules differ per festival.
Alcohol-free cocktails for camping
Every campsite has children, non-drinkers, and people who simply do not want alcohol. Therefore, always make an alcohol-free pitcher in addition to your regular one. These options are easy:
- Virgin Mojito: lime, mint, sugar syrup, and sparkling water. Clap the mint between your hands here too.
- Alcohol-free gin and tonic: alcohol-free gin with tonic, topped with cucumber, lime, or red fruit.
- Alcohol-free Piña Colada: pineapple juice, coconut milk, and lots of ice. You simply leave out the rum.
- Lemonade with mint and lime, or homemade iced tea that you let steep in the refrigerator the evening before.
- Apple elderflower spritz: cloudy apple juice, elderflower syrup, mint, and sparkling water. You can bring the base in a chilled bottle in advance.
If you don't want to mix yourself, pre-mixed mocktails are the easiest way: everyone drinks something festive, without you having to lug ingredients for two types of drinks.
Serving responsibly with little waste
A good camping evening ends without a headache and without a bag full of junk.
Reusable cups. A camping cup, mug, or tumbler is enough. Disposable cups are not necessary and blow away.
Garnish, because the eye drinks along. An orange slice, a sprig of mint, or a frozen grape turns a simple mix into a real cocktail. REI points out that appearance and scent enhance the taste experience. If you pick herbs in nature, do so in an environmentally friendly way, only if you are sure that the plant is not poisonous and with attention to your guests' allergies. If you have doubts about a plant, leave it alone and bring mint from the supermarket.
Water beside it. Have a bottle of water ready for every round, especially on warm days. Thirst from the sun and alcohol is a bad combination.
Don't drive after drinking. If someone still needs to go to the supermarket or the station, agree beforehand who the designated driver is. Do not serve alcohol to minors and keep strong premixes out of reach of children: a bottle with a pink cranberry mix looks like lemonade.
Take waste back with you. Bring a separate bag for lemon peels and empty packaging and throw them away in the campsite waste containers.
Our view on cocktails at the campsite
We notice the same thing every summer: people like to have a good cocktail at the campsite, but no one is waiting for a bag full of bottles, lemons, and a shaker that you wash in a bucket. The nicest moment of camping is the moment you finally sit down, and that is what it is all about for us.
That is why we make cocktails that are already ready. They are prepared with premium ingredients and spirits, so you only have to pour at the campsite. No measuring, no ingredients running out halfway through the week, and every glass tastes just as it should. For those who do not drink alcohol, we make mocktails with the same care.
Our advice: mixing yourself is fun for one evening, ready-made makes it easy all week. Feel free to combine: a premix or one of our bottles in the cooler, and a jam jar for when you feel like experimenting.
Ruud
Ready-made cocktails to take camping
No desire to mix at home and lug ingredients around? At Cocktails by Nina you can order ready-made cocktails of bar quality, which you only need to pour over ice at the campsite. Take, for example, a Cosmopolitan for an aperitif or a Pina Colada with four matching glasses for a tropical evening in front of the tent.
If you are going with two couples or a group of friends, a cocktail box is convenient: multiple flavors in one order. Within the Netherlands we ship free from €75, to Belgium from €100. If you live nearby, you can also pick up your order directly in Amsterdam. That is convenient if you want to quickly arrange something the day before departure.
Frequently asked questions
Which cocktails are easiest at the campsite?
Cocktails that you make directly in the glass: gin-tonic, Aperol Spritz, Cape Codder and a simple rum-cola with lime. They require two or three ingredients and no shaker. Even easier are ready-made cocktails that you only pour over ice.
How do I keep my cocktails cold without a freezer?
Turn on the cooler beforehand, fill it with chilled products and place it in the shade. Use frozen water bottles and frozen fruit as ice cubes. Ask at the reception or in the campsite shop upon arrival if ice is available for purchase.
Can I prepare cocktails at home already?
Yes, mix the spirits with syrup or juice at home in a sealable bottle and keep it chilled. Only add ice, bubbles and freshly squeezed citrus when serving, otherwise your cocktail will become flat or bitter. A little water in the premix prevents it from tasting too strong without ice.
What do I take for the children and the bob?
Make a separate non-alcoholic pitcher, for example, a Virgin Mojito, non-alcoholic Piña Colada or lemonade with mint and lime. Clearly separate the pitchers so that no one accidentally grabs the wrong one. Ready-made mocktails are an easy option if you do not want to take a second set of ingredients.
Sources
- FHM: 5 cocktails for a sturdy camping session
- Campings.com: easy cocktails at the campsite
- Campstar: the best camping cocktail recipes
- Epicurious: How to Make a Camp Cocktail
- REI: Three Classic Cocktail Recipes With a Camp Twist
- Kampeermeneer: best electric cooler
