3 Camping Cocktails for Outdoor Happy Hour

You’ve had a great day exploring, the crickets are chirping, and you’re kicking back around the campfire in the evening. It’s time for camping cocktails! But what are your options when you’re parked away from civilization? Limited space in your RV means you’re probably not bringing along an entire home bar, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a mixed drink.

With a little planning and preparation ahead of time, you can easily make cocktail bases that save space and time for your camping trip. From slushy margarita mix to fruity sangria, we have three recipes that can be easily made ahead of time and transported to your campsite in a cooler or an RV fridge/freezer. They all have less than four ingredients and only take minutes to assemble. And they all make between 4-8 servings, so they’re perfect for group camping and campsite happy hours.

Sarah Cribari

So whether you’re heading to the woods or parking your rig next to a lake, try mixing up one of these summer camping cocktails for your RV trip. And of course, always drink responsibly and never drink and drive.

Prep at Home Camping Cocktails

These three cocktail bases are easy to prepare before your trip. Then just mix and pour at the campsite!

Simple Fruit Sangria

Making the sangria base at home means you don’t need to pack all the ingredients for your trip. You’ll save space by only needing to bring the container of sangria mix and the soda. This recipe is a great way to use up any leftover fruit, but you can also use frozen fruit.

Sarah Cribari

Tips on picking a wine to use: If you like sweeter sangria try a sweet Riesling or Moscato wine. For less sugar use a dry wine like Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, or Vino Verde. More of a red wine drinker? You can swap out the white wine for a red. Try a Pinot Noir, Merlot, or Garnacha.

Ingredients:

4 oz vodka
2 cups white wine
1 cup of fruit such as sliced strawberries, oranges, peaches, blueberries, or raspberries
1 liter of Fresca, Sprite, or 7-Up

Equipment:

Quart size mason jar with cover, or a resealable container

Makes 4 drinks

Sarah Cribari

Directions:

1. Slice and chop any fruit into small pieces for the sangria.
2. To make the drink base add the fruit, vodka, and 2 cups of white wine to a quart-size mason jar or a container with a resealable cover.
3. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight so the flavors have time to mix.
4. Bring the sangria base and the soda to the campsite in a cooler or your RV fridge.
5. When ready to enjoy, fill individual glasses 1/3 full of the sangria and spoon some of the fruit into each glass. Top each glass with the soda and serve.

Camping Margaritas

This easy frozen margarita recipe can be stored in a releasable freezer bag until you’re ready to enjoy. If you like your margaritas slushy, these will be best right out of the freezer. They will keep all weekend in a cooler, but as the mixture melts, you’ll have to drink them on the rocks. If there’s room in your RV freezer, pop the freezer bag back into it to keep it slushy. You can also make the margaritas several days before your trip; the mix will keep in your freezer.

Sarah Cribari

Tip: for even less clean-up, use the 12 oz frozen limeade can to measure all the ingredients.

Ingredients:

1 can (12 oz) frozen limeade concentrate
2 cans (12 oz)  water (use the limeade can to measure)
1/2 can (6 oz) Triple Sec
1 can (12 oz) of tequila

Optional ingredients:

Salt for riming the glasses
Lime slices for garnish

Equipment:

2 Resealable gallon size freezer bags
Makes 8 drinks

Sarah Cribari

Directions:

1. Pour the limeade, water, Triple Sec, and tequila into a resealable gallon size freezer bag and put it in the freezer overnight. For extra protection against leaking, double bag the mixture before freezing. The alcohol will keep the mixture from freezing solid.
2. Keep the bag in the freezer or put it in a cooler with ice until you’re ready to serve.
3. If you’d like to rim the glasses with salt, rub a lime wedge around the edge of the glass and dip it in salt to coat.
4. Spoon or pour the margarita mix into the glasses and enjoy!

Sarah Cribari

Easy Sparkling Gin Lemonade

Using frozen lemonade concentrate packs more of a lemon punch. If you like your drinks sweeter, use a white soda like Sprite or Fresca for the mix. To keep it on the citrusy/sour side, stick with unflavored seltzer or sparkling water.

Sarah Cribari

Ingredients:

1/2 can (6 oz) frozen lemonade concentrate
1 cup gin
1 liter seltzer/sparkling water/white soda such as 7-Up, Sprite, or Fresca

Sarah Cribari

Optional ingredients:

Lemon slices or mint for serving

Equipment:

Quart size mason jar with cover, or a resealable container

Sarah Cribari

Directions:

1. To make the base, mix 1/2 can of the frozen lemonade concentrate with the gin in a quart-size mason jar or resealable container. Let sit in the fridge for a few hours.
2. Bring the base mixture and a liter of white soda or sparkling water to the campsite in a cooler or your RV fridge.
3. When ready to serve, pour the lemonade base into a pitcher and add the seltzer. You can also serve this directly in cups. Fill individual cups 1/3 of the way with the lemonade base and fill the rest of the cup with seltzer. Top with mint or lemon slices if desired.