It’s a regular routine for me to drink a hot coffee or hot chocolate on wet or cold winter days.
When it comes to summertime, nothing is more refreshing than chilled beverages or cold drinks that help you with the heat and burning under the sun.
But I’m here to share with you my five favorite camping drink recipes, including mocktails and juices.
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temples are a classic in the mocktail world.
The recipe is regional, depending on where you live. It’s a common lemon-lime soda drink with an extra bit of other ingredients.
When mixing, ginger ale is the original and widely preferred recipe, while Sprite is an alternative and provides a standard taste.
Many bartenders also use club soda when these two aren’t readily available.
But I prepare Shirley Temples with ginger ale and grenadine, and top them with a cherry. Grenadine is used everywhere as cherry flavoring for soda. I know, it’s not technically correct, but it tastes great and works well.
Take a tall glass and add flakes of ice there. Then, add 15 ml of grenadine and squeeze a lime in it (15 ml is enough).
Now, fill the glass with ginger ale up to the brim, with a half-inch below. Stir all the ingredients well and garnish the drink glass with a lime wedge and a maraschino cherry.
If there’s no ginger ale, I opt for Sprite or 7-Up.
Club soda and grenadine sound cool, but I don’t think it is overly sweet.
Moscow Mule
I find this drink pretty spicy and bubbly. To make it feel like a cocktail, I add some ice to the recipe, which slightly reduces the spice.
Don’t think it’s a beer. If you’re seeking some change of pace in summer camping, it’s a nice sipping afternoon drink.
This mule is effortless to make, yet it tastes complex with ginger Beer and lime juice.
Does it include “beer?”
Ginger beer is in the same situation as root beer. Though they name it “beer,” it doesn’t belong to alcoholic beverages.
It’s only a ginger-based soda with some spice, but different than ginger ales, which taste very mild and sweeter.
If you’ve some consideration for kids in the camp, you can backpack a homemade syrup alternative to ginger beer, including ginger root, sugar, and water.
There are several decent recipes for Moscow mules with vodka, but I want to make them non-alcoholic and simple.
Also, I like to make a drink in a cupper mug (feeling greater than a glass).
To start, add ice into the mug and squeeze half a lime into it. Pour some ginger beer or ginger syrup and stir it well. And top it with a lime wedge.
You can also use mint, cranberry, or orange slices to top the mocktail.
Strawberry Lemonade
I love this recipe for its simplicity, but it’s colorful appearance and mouthwatering taste.
It’s similar to Pink Lemonade, which campers with a sweet tooth enjoy a lot. This recipe contains ginger ale and strawberries instead of raspberries, though.
To begin with the recipe, you need to make a syrup by blending hot water and sugar in a bowl.
Whisk the sugar until it dissolves, then set it aside to cool. Then, you have to slice some strawberries. Make sure the fruits are well washed and hauled.
Take all slices into the food blender or processor to make a smoothie.
You can also manually muddle the mixture until the strawberries are crushed completely. If you do this, you need to double-strain into a glass.
But I don’t strain as I keep all the muddles for a nice red drink.
Anyway, pour the smoothie into a bowl or jug, squeeze a lemon to taste, and add the cool syrup previously made. Now, mix everything well.
Put some ice into the glass and pour the entire mixture into it.
To garnish, you can use sliced lime wheels and cut or whole strawberries.
Sunrise Mocktail
If you’re a cocktail lover, you must know the craze of Sunrise in the bar because of its cool layered effect.
But tequila in this drink feels annoying to me. So, I prefer it as a sober drink without alcohol, providing a simple tone and rich flavor.
Also, its layered colors give a beach vibe at the campsite.
Place a tall glass and add some ice cubes or marbles. Pour some soda water (Sprite), grenadine, and orange juice in that order. This is simple and is completed in a minute.
Give it a nice stir.
If you have the luxury of items, you can make it with the order: 1 part lemon juice, 1 part simple syrup, 3 parts pineapple juice, 3 parts orange juice, and grenadine.
You can garnish the drink with a mint banquet and lime wedges.
Virgin Mojito
I own a mini mint garden and home, and make mojitos regularly. Also, I carry some leaves with me on a camping trip most often.
In fact, I have done several virgin mojitos, opting out of the rum, and got a positive response every time.
As rum isn’t a particularly strong flavor in mojitos, leaving it out doesn’t make a significant difference in the drink.
What I have felt is that ginger ale is sweet and makes the taste something special. Perhaps, you also make the dark and stormy drink, which is ideal without rum and without spoiling the taste.
Okay, let’s go to the recipe!
Take a glass and drop 8 – 10 mint leaves into it. Get 1 lime and slice it into wedges, and put them into the glass.
o.75 oz of simple syrup is enough for one glass. Then, muddle all the ingredients until they’re squeezed at the base. Add some crushed or pebble ice and stir well.
Pour some soda water (I usually use Sprite). Finally, garnish the drink with some mint sprigs and a straw.
Most people complain about feeling that something is missing when they omit rum. My girlfriend feels the same, so I muddle some cherries along with lime and mint for her.
For an extra touch of flavor, add cucumber slices.
Final Thoughts
You cannot carry lots of things on the trip, so you need camping drink recipes that have fewer ingredients but offer considerable flavor.
What I do is that whatever fruits and berries I pack, I try using them for multi-purpose: salad, meal ingredients, and drinks with ice and soda.
If it is not possible to backpack, I always research probable sources at the projected campsite before heading on the trip and make at least one drink for myself there.
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