Let's start a BWCA.com Cook Book. Please post your favorite ADULT BEVERAGE recipes here. No comments - Only recipes.

Name of the drink is an IRA. Two shots of Jameson, two shots of Baileys.

Official drink of the Wabakimi Project was made by pouring Malibu Coconut Flavored Rum over ice and mixing in Tang to your taste preference. This drink could only be made on Saturdays shortly after the bush plane came in for resupply and dropped off LaBlatts beer on ice along with the food barrels. Of course, if the plane was delayed due to weather or the WP crew not being on a water body where it could safely land the drinks would have wait a day or two, or three...

Bota Box, or Black Box wines.
Remove bladder from box for more minimal packing.

Bailey's and hot chocolate.

Filtered lake water and Scotch. A match made in heaven

Bandit Wine. It comes in convenient 1L boxes with a screw on cap, so you can break up the weight into multiple packs. It also, in my opinion, tastes much better than Bota or Black Box.

Whiskey, filtered lake water and half a lemon-lime Nuun tab. Get your booze and your electrolytes at the same time!

I had a bandit that started leaking through the seams last summer. Only drank maybe a glass or two worth over a couple nights. Unknown if pressure from within the barrel made it happen or if it was a defect.

I'm the only wine drinker in the family though, so in the future I may just stick to scotch or bourbon unless bringing another wine drinker.

edit: Sorry MN_Lindsey, missed the no comments part.

Here's a good drink - make 1L jack palmer mix in a nalgene, drink a cup, refill with bourbon or whisky. Shake gently. Enjoy!

mirth: "I had a bandit that started leaking through the seams last summer. Only drank maybe a glass or two worth over a couple nights. Unknown if pressure from within the barrel made it happen or if it was a defect.


I'm the only wine drinker in the family though, so in the future I may just stick to scotch or bourbon unless bringing another wine drinker.

edit: Sorry MN_Lindsey, missed the no comments part.

Here's a good drink - make 1L jack palmer mix in a nalgene, drink a cup, refill with bourbon or whisky. Shake gently. Enjoy!"

That’s good with everclear, too. Just limit it to 3-4 oz per nalgene and don’t drink more than 2! Good with orange koolaid mix as well with breakfast on layover days.

Personally like mixing Jeremiah weed sweet tea vodka and lemonade Crystal light packs. Simple and tasty, especially in warmer weather

whiskey and water

I like powdered hot Apple Cider, with a shot or two of bourbon. On a cool evening, hot cider/bourbon is awesome. On a warm night, serve cold and it tastes just fine.


Nalgene bottles carry alcohol very well- they were originally designed for medical use, so they don't absorb/interact with alcohol.

ooooooo, I like the hot cider tip! I have pouches of that.

Malibu Rum with Crystal Light.

Hot cider packs w capt morgan - best cold night drink

On a lark, we grabbed some Pocket Cocktails before heading out. We brought the margarita mix and tequila. They weren’t too bad! The lake water was cool, so that helped. Don’t know about mid summer margaritas though.

Vodka and powdered lemonade is a pretty good weight-efficient one. I've also premixed Manhattans in a Gatorade bottle, used Wild Turkey 101 to maintain a high ABV.

Current air temperature Knob Creek Bourbon out of a poorly maintained coffee cup.

Last time in the BWCA my drink of choice was Mio Sweet Tea (those tiny squeeze bottles) + lake water + Mr. Boston brandy. Mr. Boston was key because it was the only brandy I found that came in a plastic handle...so obviously we brought two of those.

"Delicious Cold Beer"

Serves 1 - 4

Required ingredients:
1 Hydroflask growler (64 oz)
64 oz of your favorite beer

1. Pre-chill your Hydroflask growler by filling it with ice water
2. Take growler to your favorite brewery and fill it with your favorite beer (ask bartender to dump the ice water)
3. Store refrigerated as long as possible, including the drive to your entry point - keep it in a cooler
4. Convince your friends that it's worth portaging in (it helps if you remind them that you are willing to hand carry it on all portages...)
5. Enjoy your Delicious Cold Beer around the campfire on the first or second night out (duration that the beer will stay cold is dependent on the outdoor temperature - perhaps experiment with underwater cooling methods). Your friends will be willing to portage a growler (or two!) next time.

I like to base camp after a few days in the deep timber. So, once camp is established, I take Pendleton 1910 single malt rye ( 12 years aged ) and in a Nalgene bottle and an anchor bag with rocks, sink it in the early A.M. deep in the lake with another empty Nalgene as a buoy tied to the anchor Rhode.

Then, later after dinner and a bit of fishing, I take a last slow paddle to the sunken Whiskey and pull her up. Then returning to camp I get a fire going.

I put my canoe away, and sip on the cool spirit as the aches of the day slip away ... slight vanilla and caramel notes dance on my tongue as I sip the dusk away and observe the stars waking up. Not a bad way to end a great day in the timber!

Powdered ginger ale w/ lake water and Tullamore D.E.W irish whiskey. Chilled or warmed. You can't go wrong with this drink. But Hot apple cider and spiced rum will leave you with a warm belly and memories of earlier days around a campfire.

Shimbo: ""Delicious Cold Beer"


Serves 1 - 4


Required ingredients:
1 Hydroflask growler (64 oz)
64 oz of your favorite beer


1. Pre-chill your Hydroflask growler by filling it with ice water
2. Take growler to your favorite brewery and fill it with your favorite beer (ask bartender to dump the ice water)
3. Store refrigerated as long as possible, including the drive to your entry point - keep it in a cooler
4. Convince your friends that it's worth portaging in (it helps if you remind them that you are willing to hand carry it on all portages...)
5. Enjoy your Delicious Cold Beer around the campfire on the first or second night out (duration that the beer will stay cold is dependent on the outdoor temperature - perhaps experiment with underwater cooling methods). Your friends will be willing to portage a growler (or two!) next time."

That growler will double as a great coffee thermos, so you can brew in the evening and have a cold camp on the morning with hot coffee. I usually bring a 24 oz thermos for 2 of us.

My favorite BWCA/Quetico beverages are 3 oz of everclear mixed in a quart Nalgene bottle with Mio Lemonade or Orange Koolaid. Be careful with the stuff though. It can put the hurt on you, but can also be used as backup stove fuel. Forty Creek whisky with coffee or a bit of water, or boxed Pinot Noir to round it out. I may smuggle the occasional Surley Furious in as well.

I have three adult drinks for my trips to the BWCA.

In cold weather I drink Fireball Whiskey and Powdered Hot Apple Cider. I also will bring a nice sipping Bourbon in colder weather.

In warmer weather I drink camp Margaritas-two to one mix of Tequila and Cointreau that I mix with either Limeade drink mix or Margarita drink mix.

My other go to warm weather beverage is Vodka with any fruity beverage drink mix.

Camp Coffee
One cup of coffee
A pour of Crown Royal

Special Camp Coffee
One cup of coffee
A pour of Crown Royal
One pour of Baileys or Kahlua
Or both

Pine tea with bourbon is the go to drink.

White Pine needles boiled in water over the fire or portable stove.
Pour through a bandana to filter the needles & sticks out.
Pour into a cup that has a couple fingers of bourbon in it.
Sip & enjoy fireside. Our favorite for this blend is Jim Beam Vanilla.

2 kinds of whiskey... irish and bourbon or irish and scotch usually) plus a whee bit of tequila to change it up for a night or two. AND a shottie of bitters. It may be helpful as a digestive, or just a variation for the whiskey/bourbon.

Yukon Coffee- dark campfire coffee with a splash of Yukon Jack. Also like Crystal Light Raspberry drink mix with Bacardi Raz. On cold nights Ardbeg single malt is my best friend....just don't get too close to the campfire with it.

My new favorite drink, I think I'll call it the Cherry Bomb. Or maybe this year I'll add an orange wedge and call it the B-Dub Old Fashioned.
I don't have any exact measurements. I guess the amounts get less and less as the trip goes on:
A few fingers of Everclear in the Nalgene (because it's the most efficient alcohol to lug!)
A fbit of country time lemonaid, fill up the nalgene with water
A handful of freeze-dried cherries.
Shake, pass around.

scotttimm: "My new favorite drink, I think I'll call it the Cherry Bomb. Or maybe this year I'll add an orange wedge and call it the B-Dub Old Fashioned.
I don't have any exact measurements. I guess the amounts get less and less as the trip goes on:
A few fingers of Everclear in the Nalgene (because it's the most efficient alcohol to lug!)
A fbit of country time lemonaid, fill up the nalgene with water
A handful of freeze-dried cherries.
Shake, pass around.
"

This is the recipe I have been looking for. Tired of carrying box wine--too much weight. I knew there had to be an Everclear solution.

Simple! Just vodka mixed with lemonade. Without the ice they’re called Boundary Waters Lemonade. Make’ em as strong as you wish. They’ll make you see the Northern Lights in the south. LOL.

Black Coffee plus your favorite Bourbon. We call it a Skid Mark. Born deep in Wilderness.

Hot chocolate with Peppermint Schnapps

Hot Tang with spiced rum!!

Ultralight Bloody Mary Mix

The secret to this recipe is dehydrated tomato juice, aka tomato paste, which can be reconstituted at a 4:1 ratio. This is seasoned to my taste, you should season it to yours.

Combine the following ingredients in a small leak proof container:

3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 ounces vodka
2-3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1-2 dashes hot sauce
Lowry's
Black pepper
Pinch MSG

Paddle deep into the wilderness, add to 12 ounces of cold lake water, stir well and enjoy.