Best, easy to make cocktails while camping

A well-earned drink can be the perfect end to a long day – even in the outdoors – and you don’t have to pack a full bar to do better than a cooler full of Miller Lite. There’s a bevy of adult drinks that are refreshing and easy to make, even while out on the trail or at your campsite. Using what you’d normally bring with you to mix and flavor your drink keeps things lightweight.

Maple Leaf

What’s a great camping breakfast? Pancakes. And what’s always served with pancakes? Maple syrup. The Maple Leaf combines syrup, lemon juice or lemonade and bourbon to make a surprisingly light cocktail that goes down smooth while helping to warm you up on cold winter mornings.

What you need:

• 2 ounces bourbon
• 1/2 ounce lemonade (Instant lemonade is a great trail drink and makes an effective mixer, too.)
• 1/2 ounce maple syrup

What you do:

• Combine the three ingredients, shake and serve. If you prefer yours chilled, use ice or snow to make a slushy drink.

Fisherman’s Friend

A strong cup of coffee is the best way to wake up while you’re camping, and hey, it’s not like you have to go to work, right? Why not make your morning shot of caffeine a bit more interesting? This drink is perfect for a lazy, early-hours fishing trip.

What you need:

• 6 ounces hot, freshly brewed coffee
• 2 ounces Irish whiskey
• Cream and sugar to taste

What you do:

• Pour the whiskey and cream into your coffee and stir. Like your coffee black? Skip the cream and sugar and revel in your ruggedness.

The Spruce Up

Channel your inner Daniel Boone by mixing vodka or Everclear with nature’s own little vitamin C shots. Spruce and fir tips are flavorful and healthy, and make for a tasty, refreshing drink when muddled with alcohol, sugar and water. Everclear doubles as camp stove fuel (and antiseptic!), so you wouldn’t even need to bring anything extra to make this.

What you need:

• 2 ounces vodka or 1 ounce Everclear
• 1 ounce water
• 1 large handful spruce tips (New growth, signified by a lighter green color, has a fresher taste, but any spruce or fir will work.)
• 6 packets of sugar (about 1 ounce)

What you do:

Heat water and sugar in a small pot until sugar is dissolved and liquid is boiling, then remove from the heat. Break up and muddle spruce tips to release flavor, then toss in the still-hot simple syrup and steep several minutes. Add alcohol, stir, pour into a mug and drink at preferred temperature. Strain the spruce tips or leave them in, your choice.

Hot Toddy

• Packets of apple cider mix are a camper’s best friend, especially when mixed with a pinch of cinnamon, an apple slice and some whiskey, making the perfect drink to relax with at night around a warm campfire. Hot cocoa, eat your heart out.

What you need:

• 1 packet instant apple cider
• 6 ounces water
• 2 ounces Jack Daniels
• Pinch of cinnamon
• Apple slice for garnish, if desired

What you do:

• Heat water until simmering, add apple cider mix and cinnamon and stir. Splash in whiskey, top with a slice of crisp apple and serve hot.